tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24432695095438256612024-03-05T00:46:39.413-08:00Walking Well With GodBev Rihtarchik - Walking Well With Godhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18225613427007199391noreply@blogger.comBlogger340125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443269509543825661.post-43044147387419610312023-04-23T16:00:00.000-07:002023-04-23T16:00:50.088-07:00Creative Ways to Share Your Faith When Evangelism Scares You<span style="font-family: verdana;">Hey Friend,</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I deliberated over which t-shirt to pull on with my black yoga pants. The bright scarlet one with the adorable lamb caricature spoke to me. I threw my hair back in a scrunchie and headed off to my "Aging Backwards" exercise class. I love the class because it is a fun combination of dance, yoga, and pilates movements. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw9hYYNe1wiT-jiZP6PK-Q73QWvPl9GG8hVddfebhMHQrYgkCw2YTCZK8aB4fHEwfOyHCTtfI5g6rwRmq_7fNGyR0-mVlB7nncvTE1cDwiotjy9wRZ0hZuaH_Jsd53Cbl6e8_NpClOs0J6msFbHdFe7N8lSEFh4JAT1pntbLjuvFsFmbx67cYiFhJr/s3024/Lost%20sheep%20t-shirt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw9hYYNe1wiT-jiZP6PK-Q73QWvPl9GG8hVddfebhMHQrYgkCw2YTCZK8aB4fHEwfOyHCTtfI5g6rwRmq_7fNGyR0-mVlB7nncvTE1cDwiotjy9wRZ0hZuaH_Jsd53Cbl6e8_NpClOs0J6msFbHdFe7N8lSEFh4JAT1pntbLjuvFsFmbx67cYiFhJr/w400-h400/Lost%20sheep%20t-shirt.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The new session was starting, but creature of habit that I am, I headed for my usual spot in class. I immediately noticed a face I hadn't seen before, and she had her mat rolled out beside mine. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">As other ladies greeted each other and gabbed, she stood quietly by herself looking around tentatively. I'm an introvert whom God has called to be an extrovert for His glory, so I knew this was my cue.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Hi, my name is Bev. I haven't seen you before. Are you new today?" I said with a smile. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Yes," she replied. "My name is Katherine and I'm not sure what I've gotten myself into," she laughed.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Don't worry," I reassured her. "We were all new once and I'm sure you'll catch on quickly. And if you don't, most of us go the wrong way half the time anyway." I chuckled -- hoping to set her at ease.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">"I like your shirt," she continued --probably happy to have someone to talk to. "The lamb is adorable...what does your shirt say?" she queried as she studied me.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">"He left the 99 to rescue me (Matthew 18:12)," I stated. Her blank stare begged for a better explanation, so I continued. "It's about the parable of the lost sheep in the Bible. Have you heard that story?"</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">"No," she said quietly.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">"It's one of my favorite stories about how much Jesus loves us and will go to the ends of the earth to save us." I was able to quickly get the words in before class started. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">So what's my point?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">A simple cute and colorful t-shirt opened a dialogue and an opportunity to plant a seed. I hope I get the opportunity to continue to water it, but even if I don't, I know we are in such times that we can't be shy about our faith. The clock is ticking and now is not the time to be ashamed of our faith.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>"Therefore, everyone who will acknowledge me before others, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven." (Matthew 10:32)</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I have several t-shirts designed and distributed by a company called Love in Faith. <b>https://www.loveinfaith.life</b> If I watch, I can score a t-shirt I like for only $10. -- not bad for a conversation starter.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Recently, One shirt with the quote, "Tell Your Mountain About Your God" caught the attention of a barrista in Starbucks and another seed was planted. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1_CzgSba_BNSlr4_03fWDxNDH8Oi3x1M9eRX14jBwT-ySZeXLaL1-elw_SeElsmFwoySnkd248qaAuovs-FwG-wDezRMJBbeMEZ67VLBfPTwtPYVtT9yvPaEivWNnEK9c69QhwCHKpqccfJae44RxgEGTQITWoJEIOxqVLBMpTLEvJJRe_aoQ2ks2/s3024/Mountain%20t-shirt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1_CzgSba_BNSlr4_03fWDxNDH8Oi3x1M9eRX14jBwT-ySZeXLaL1-elw_SeElsmFwoySnkd248qaAuovs-FwG-wDezRMJBbeMEZ67VLBfPTwtPYVtT9yvPaEivWNnEK9c69QhwCHKpqccfJae44RxgEGTQITWoJEIOxqVLBMpTLEvJJRe_aoQ2ks2/w400-h400/Mountain%20t-shirt.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Not Perfect, Just Forgiven," has garnered some comments as well. Who would have thought t-shirts could be a way of opening doors to share your faith?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">This next idea, at first, struck me as possibly inappropriate. It was an idea I heard about on a Christian podcast. The speaker talked about how he purchased tracts, which succinctly and colorfully, shared the Gospel message. He would paper clip a crisp one dollar bill to each tract and then would leave them places to be "discovered."</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Some of his favorite "hiding places" were the snack and beer aisles in the grocery store, on a table in a coffee shop or bar, and this is the one that got me -- in the bathrooms of every store, mall, office building, school, medical office, hospital, hotel, bar, restaurant, etc. he visited. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Bathrooms? Really?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Yes, bathrooms. The host, shared on one podcast, how Bible prophecy pastor JD Farag came to know the Lord because someone left a Gospel tract in a public bathroom and his heart was ripe for the Spirit to speak. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">So yes, I carry Gospel tracts, published by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, with one dollar bills attached, in my purse, wherever I go. When I leave one someplace, I pray for the person who finds it because maybe their heart will be ripe to hear the truth. For tracts: </span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">https://www.billygrahambookstore.org</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhALRa0vJ7xjF_0SiGlCOWpAO-U2JK8CH8D2yi6LkiyTkUxGDNUJHDYNpeVQNK6oYy08giPpUWgcEnx-nlp02XDTw3tm6R1BYx-01IsX_LyUMkR2gWwHHlaUEu_JPSrD2TL6Dn4Ts2SxwhMKz-7eZ2vEfIo4dygRCnDVtwnhAXYocS8Hesdex_WzWAt/s2927/tracts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2927" data-original-width="2927" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhALRa0vJ7xjF_0SiGlCOWpAO-U2JK8CH8D2yi6LkiyTkUxGDNUJHDYNpeVQNK6oYy08giPpUWgcEnx-nlp02XDTw3tm6R1BYx-01IsX_LyUMkR2gWwHHlaUEu_JPSrD2TL6Dn4Ts2SxwhMKz-7eZ2vEfIo4dygRCnDVtwnhAXYocS8Hesdex_WzWAt/w400-h400/tracts.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><br /></b></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Less than 6% of Americans (according to Barna researchers) have a truly Biblical worldview. That's not many of us. How many lost souls are out there -- ripe and ready for the harvest? Thousands. Guess that means we better get to work because we are on the cusp of the tribulation, and don't we want more souls to be caught up in the rapture of believers, beforehand? You bet!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I know I don't have the spiritual gift of "Evangelism," but that doesn't excuse me from being God's messenger -- it just means I need to get a little more creative about the process. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I hope this post has gotten your creative juices flowing. Please share in the Comments section any ideas you have for sharing your faith.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few." (Matthew 9:37)</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Be blessed...</i></span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEir5no7qT_bUYw1W19VkIt23xE5JFRx1WS72ujW18Rc6d7fWROe5Qh35MBDeFdgym5AJJRDYqHIhFU8hEAf0-UNCEb8TVgHTqtxbvzNkn0QXIm5837aWFLVT3bbAUCpF-VUZrzY4q_kKYf_tlhuBPXsE5zHGrsPeVw0Rt1uJXsUsWZ52zDtoVB9wX_W" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; font-family: verdana; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="250" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEir5no7qT_bUYw1W19VkIt23xE5JFRx1WS72ujW18Rc6d7fWROe5Qh35MBDeFdgym5AJJRDYqHIhFU8hEAf0-UNCEb8TVgHTqtxbvzNkn0QXIm5837aWFLVT3bbAUCpF-VUZrzY4q_kKYf_tlhuBPXsE5zHGrsPeVw0Rt1uJXsUsWZ52zDtoVB9wX_W" width="320" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><br /></span></div>Bev Rihtarchik - Walking Well With Godhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18225613427007199391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443269509543825661.post-28110552573472331332023-01-22T06:53:00.000-08:002023-01-22T06:53:51.937-08:00What Does it Look Like to "Be Still?"<span style="font-family: verdana;">Hey Friend,</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">May I share a secret with you? I am not very good at "being still." Quite frankly, I stink at it. Let me give you the brief rundown on my life's work as an example...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I rarely sat still in highschool and college. Looking back, knowing what I know now, I have always struggled with anxiety and depression -- it makes sense I kept busy as a way of distracting myself from these unwelcome thoughts and feelings.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">As a mom, I headed up two different MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) groups in two states. MOPS is a Christian outreach to young moms. I taught Sunday School for ten years to 4-5 year olds. I graduated to teaching in Christian schools and a Christian preschool.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I led numerous Bible studies and hosted our church small group. I started a Christian devotional blog ten years ago -- just about the time I started a Christian non-profit that serves children in Pakistan. I've been published three times. I raised two children to adulthood -- trying to instill God's precepts.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I took the the scripture, "Faith without works, is dead," seriously! So seriously I didn't realize I was on the slow burn train heading toward exhaustion. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUwrFY4wPc7Xrq1Scg7x0HJwr0cs0ctE6lMnFZ2WESic0E0kxC4KLwjf_ngkoLWuOuY0LMB0FAhM-teVDtL06CJ3MP9Ut6YZ2veVLAXngQjQ9MegK1ZNFwIU5vrvc-YOQRAucOb3co8c8_YfQ6tNxco7DqPoh4PbJ4yz7j2djIhKRb5MlX86IwqZDn/s4969/train%20on%20tracks%202023.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4969" data-original-width="4025" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUwrFY4wPc7Xrq1Scg7x0HJwr0cs0ctE6lMnFZ2WESic0E0kxC4KLwjf_ngkoLWuOuY0LMB0FAhM-teVDtL06CJ3MP9Ut6YZ2veVLAXngQjQ9MegK1ZNFwIU5vrvc-YOQRAucOb3co8c8_YfQ6tNxco7DqPoh4PbJ4yz7j2djIhKRb5MlX86IwqZDn/w324-h400/train%20on%20tracks%202023.jpg" width="324" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I was a "human-doing" who had forgotten how to be a "human-being."</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Recently, I reitred from my place on the Redeemer Christian Board and am no longer immersed in the day in, day out operations of running a non-profit. Redeemer Christian School is now a ministry under the Youth for Christ Intl. umbrella -- what an awesome ministry!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">So now what? Many have told me I need to take time for self care and to develop my creative interests. Since my vocabulary has always focused on verbs like strive, perform, serve, and do, I'm really struggling with the thought of just being still.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">After six days of hard work, God needed a day to be still and rest. Jesus went away from the crowds to rest and be still in His Father's presence. If God and Jesus needed to be still -- who am I to think the precription doesn't apply to me?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzkHLi3daenSD3T4CvHNqDtrW0JH1k07LrWCXOy6liSL3bwB5I5xn0n1p96OpIwHXgOT9_N-q6R1SbNokYlNsgVam-yF0FEiD5ZyiGdcJAhI6ELmthp-iguhvqWAPwE-Iy2LLNIayi06znrUvMRS7nPRsI4VoWi9QYP5nnC65VMvrzWOZi8zULb01R/s6720/rest%20with%20Bible%20and%20coffee%202023.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6720" data-original-width="4480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzkHLi3daenSD3T4CvHNqDtrW0JH1k07LrWCXOy6liSL3bwB5I5xn0n1p96OpIwHXgOT9_N-q6R1SbNokYlNsgVam-yF0FEiD5ZyiGdcJAhI6ELmthp-iguhvqWAPwE-Iy2LLNIayi06znrUvMRS7nPRsI4VoWi9QYP5nnC65VMvrzWOZi8zULb01R/w266-h400/rest%20with%20Bible%20and%20coffee%202023.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I love to dig into the Hebrew and Greek meanings of words. When I researched "be still" the verb translated to "cease." In other words, the crux of the command, "Be still" indicates we are to cease whatever it is we are doing (even if it's awesome Kingdom building work) and be still in God's Word and God's presence.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Bible reminds us several times to "Be still." When God repeats Himself in His holy word it usually means that we are going to need help and reminders to follow these important commands. "Do not be afraid" is repeated 365 times in the Bible -- one, "Do not be afraid," for every day of the year. I think God knows we will be afraid AND we will have trouble being still.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Be still and know that <b>I </b>am God (Psalm 46:10 emphasis mine).</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I specifially put the emphasis on "<i style="font-weight: bold;">I</i><i>" </i>because it reminds me that God is God and I am not. Jesus's work on the cross is finished. I need only to repent of my sins and accept this wondrous gift of grace -- that He took my sins with Him on that cross. My salvation's been bought and paid for, and I am free to walk in forgiveness. Nothing, on my part, needs doing.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGxCAAmIE-soxihS2OYwJ2k9JlA1oqHdSW24J3bsrvwP3bJQbTfyVtTa3R4k3yGubMX2_1ygDN4xsEeMELwE7846kdxMrqQeyIS49-MZZh4_IVGIHPbcCIaf7bU2kC69DshFJfeBGbL_CQdbNDiATQHsVAaUp_OBtY2IS31gGtYn9trgMFYJu23rhU/s4489/cross%20with%20clouds%202023.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4489" data-original-width="3207" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGxCAAmIE-soxihS2OYwJ2k9JlA1oqHdSW24J3bsrvwP3bJQbTfyVtTa3R4k3yGubMX2_1ygDN4xsEeMELwE7846kdxMrqQeyIS49-MZZh4_IVGIHPbcCIaf7bU2kC69DshFJfeBGbL_CQdbNDiATQHsVAaUp_OBtY2IS31gGtYn9trgMFYJu23rhU/w286-h400/cross%20with%20clouds%202023.jpg" width="286" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Even if I sat on my behind and did nothing with my remaining days on earth, my eternity will be with God in heaven. Wow!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">All my righteousness is like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6) -- expecially if I think it somehow factors into my salvation. I know this, but still I <b><i>do stuff!</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I have a passion for lost souls -- especially because we are traveling at warp speed on a trajectory headed directly for the end times. The Tribulation gallops ever closer which means we're on the cusp of the Rapture. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">So how do I "be still" when all this is going on? Perhaps Kingdom work doesn't always have to look like publishing a book or starting a non-profit. Perhaps the less grandiose act of being still -- so that I can be available to people who are struggling and have questions, may be what I need to aim for? Maybe if I'm not running in circles, I will be more accesible to those who may need encouragment or a listening ear?! Maybe I just need to be still so I can hear God speak!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Being still is God's command, but this is a command which needs to be worked out in MY life and may be for the good of Someone Else's life. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Either way, Being Still is not being lazy -- just the opposite, it is being intentional in my relationship with the Lord and my relationship with others, and is for my own wellbeing.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thank you for letting me hash this out with you. I'd love to hear your input from personal experience. I'm all ears!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Are YOU in a place where God is whispering, "be still?" How do you balance "works" with "being still?" What do you think it looks like to be still? Will you share?</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Be blessed....</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhlUMsSw7nRvdpavJPzh3LVrJUMXcFR3j98JQo3UffmJu9dYD8Sj08-hx6Q3WelsChQ5_aqoXotpLGcxYEMUhatKOG6PwyksDfYoraEOG9XAn8fGK_9SCgdQgt7qeC7RBS3RaAPuo9BqbefvzapQXGMVdcQdTtlLPV46iTPM0F5pK9GkMg6FlccyaxF" style="clear: left; display: inline; font-family: verdana; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="250" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhlUMsSw7nRvdpavJPzh3LVrJUMXcFR3j98JQo3UffmJu9dYD8Sj08-hx6Q3WelsChQ5_aqoXotpLGcxYEMUhatKOG6PwyksDfYoraEOG9XAn8fGK_9SCgdQgt7qeC7RBS3RaAPuo9BqbefvzapQXGMVdcQdTtlLPV46iTPM0F5pK9GkMg6FlccyaxF" width="320" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>ps. If you've enjoyed what you've read, here, today -- why don't you SUBSCRIBE to my almost weekly blog (and nothing else). </b>Go to the SUBSCRIBE box on this blogsite, enter your contact info and then <b>be sure to check your email inbox for a link which will confirm your subscription.</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thanks for reading!<br /><br /></span></div>Bev Rihtarchik - Walking Well With Godhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18225613427007199391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443269509543825661.post-78340983667516380922022-11-28T04:51:00.005-08:002022-11-30T03:41:48.001-08:00Perseverance Posse & Giveaways<div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Hey Friend,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">One of my very favorite words in the English language is
“abide.” Learning how to abide in Christ is perhaps <i>the</i> foremost action
we can learn to live out. Andrew Murray, in his widely read book “<i>Abide in
Christ,” </i>describes it this way:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>“Abiding in Him is not a work that we have to do as the
condition for enjoying salvation, but a consenting to let Him do all for us,
and in us, and through us. It is a work He does for us — the fruit and the
power of His redeeming love. Our part is simply to yield, to trust, and to wait
for what He has engaged to perform.” </b><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">While we are yielding, trusting, and abiding, God doesn’t
want us to be doing this alone — far from it, sweet friend. Every year I pull
out a purply-pink glass Christmas ornament. Some of the silver glitter, on the
bottom half, has worn off through the years. When I gently unwrap it, I take a
moment to cradle it in my hands. Bittersweet feelings bubble to the surface to
interrupt my festive mood. It’s a push-me-pull-you mix of emotions. The words,
written in silver Sharpie say, “Perseverance Posse – 2009.” Simply holding this
ornament takes me back to the fragile woman whose husband had taken off and
left her struggling to believe that God really loved her...</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">~~~~~</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This week I am guest posting on my writing friend, Janis Van Keuren's, blog for her <i>Heartfilled Stories Series. </i>Readers and new subscribers to Janis's blog will be entered in a drawing to win one of four gift cards to Amazon and Starbucks as well as an opportunity to win some of my floral watercolor notecards. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>To continue reading "Perseverance Posse" click this link: </b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://janisvankeuren.com/perseverance-posse-and-another-give-away/">Click HERE to continue reading:</a> Please leave some lovin' for Janis her Comments section...Subscribe and win a prize!!<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Be blessed...</i></span></p></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><a href="https://imageshack.com/i/porYxOYJp" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/924/rYxOYJ.png" /></a><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>ps. If you've enjoyed reading my blog posts...</b>why don't you SUBSCRIBE. Just go to the SUBSCRIBE box on my blogsite and enter your contact information. <b>Be sure to look for a confirmation link in your email inbox (check filters). </b>Thanks for reading...</span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Bev Rihtarchik - Walking Well With Godhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18225613427007199391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443269509543825661.post-72848797177531755472022-11-15T03:33:00.001-08:002022-11-17T04:26:02.237-08:00Finding Grace in the Crucible<div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Hey Friend,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Perhaps you’ve heard the saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t
fix it.” Since the fall of man, we are all broken. Label us “damaged goods,”
much like the lonely, dented can of green beans on the grocery store shelf or
the scratched coffee table marked down to “clearance.” We’ve arrived at somehow
being “less than.” We are broken in our affliction, and grace is what we
desperately need. There’s one small problem, our pride prevents us from seeing
ourselves as the truly sinful and corrupt creatures we are. Take a survey on a
busy street corner and the average passerby will tell you that they’ve tried to
be a good person and, therefore, are doing okay by the world’s standard.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoh8mcFWU5nYh9sNbOyz5b71Y38rJMvG65UjX6nT4hnRKSa00L68obn_sYyLx6x-d-kUBzsJrRPDavSq4plOuu8q88uc6gwtC0EVBJOSkZZ2xzatBBPbncBC6n_O2VjSCS_LBU9qnPf3Bu9a5BbQL8Z26IUYzbW1DNCuYUv8ICnC7j7wFFXQcr-svn/s5502/broken%20vases.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5502" data-original-width="4130" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoh8mcFWU5nYh9sNbOyz5b71Y38rJMvG65UjX6nT4hnRKSa00L68obn_sYyLx6x-d-kUBzsJrRPDavSq4plOuu8q88uc6gwtC0EVBJOSkZZ2xzatBBPbncBC6n_O2VjSCS_LBU9qnPf3Bu9a5BbQL8Z26IUYzbW1DNCuYUv8ICnC7j7wFFXQcr-svn/w300-h400/broken%20vases.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">God, however, doesn’t operate by the world’s standard. He is
just and holy, and in order to stand before Him (even when we’re suffering) we
need to be just and holy as well. Yes, we can have complete forgiveness and
salvation through accepting Jesus as our Savior, but are we then free to
continue in our prideful, self-sufficient ways, or does life with Jesus require
change?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thanks to my husband, I’ve become a fan of old war movies.
One of our favorites is <i>“Heartbreak Ridge”</i> which stars Clint Eastwood as
the hard-nosed, hard-living, burned-every-bridge Marine Gunnery Sergeant, Tom
Highway. He takes command of a spoiled, undisciplined recon platoon and is
charged with whipping them into shape with a sort of “bootcamp on steroids.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">My husband’s father was a Marine, and so I’ve asked him if
the commanding officers of bootcamp platoons are really as mean, nasty,
ill-tempered, and downright ugly as they are portrayed in the movies — His
answer? “They’re worse!” In one scene in <i>Heartbreak Ridge</i>, “Gunny,” as
his men called him, tells his platoon they’d better turn in early because
they’ll be getting up at 0600 for a long run with full gear. The next morning,
at 0500, Gunny storms through the barracks, kicking bunks, yelling and cussing
up a storm. With spittle flying from his mouth, he bellows, “FALL OUT,” as the
bleary-eyed troops come to attention.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">“Hey Sarge,” one platoon member interrupts, “I thought you
said we’d be getting up at 0600…it’s only 0500!” To which Gunny barks, “So I
lied. So, I can’t tell time. So, you think some commie ba$@!#rd is going to
make an appointment to blow a hole through your head?”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJNksOdZxLBVYD10EvVlnlEt740JuUYvgimCdxoUQUwd-oQunL8YUTbkPPeYuUhxszzH-6-11yg6DHNm42afmrK_-k7-PFaFmH5QrWyN-QC-9uizRViGUlpOPhanImoDoF4vaWYmmihaN_4w0rbbWv1Uwdb1i9zXz1jNmmwKD1Z7WIZ0Eq3DUIu7If/s5472/soldiers%20marching.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJNksOdZxLBVYD10EvVlnlEt740JuUYvgimCdxoUQUwd-oQunL8YUTbkPPeYuUhxszzH-6-11yg6DHNm42afmrK_-k7-PFaFmH5QrWyN-QC-9uizRViGUlpOPhanImoDoF4vaWYmmihaN_4w0rbbWv1Uwdb1i9zXz1jNmmwKD1Z7WIZ0Eq3DUIu7If/w400-h266/soldiers%20marching.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I’m sure you’re wondering where I’m going with this story!
Before Gunny’s bunch of misfits could be trusted in carrying out crucial recon
missions, they had to be broken down completely and rebuilt with the grit,
discipline, honor, and character that it takes to be a Marine. Before their
transformation, these guys may have passed the world’s standard, but they
certainly wouldn’t have passed muster with our country’s elite fighting unit.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">God is known throughout Scripture as the Lord of Armies. He
is the high commander of “good” in this ongoing spiritual battle between good
and evil. As believers, we are recruits in the Lord’s army. For us to be
trusted and reliable soldiers of the cross, we too, must go through a sort of
“bootcamp.” Thankfully, God is nothing like “Gunny,” but we are no good to God
if we persist in our fallen ways. God needs to subdue our flesh-life to bring
forth resurrection-life in us. This might require taking a turn or two in God’s
refining fire.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Scripture, in fact, refers to God as our Refiner. He will
allow us to be held close to the red-hot flame in the crucible to cleanse and
perfect us. The refining process is meant to burn away all the impurities so
that what is left is metal (character) of the finest, highest, and purest
quality. It’s painful, but necessary. It doesn’t mean that God doesn’t love us.
He can be grieved by our sin, but never — for a moment — stops loving His
children. He does, however, care for us enough to want to teach us important
life lessons and grow us into Christ’s image.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7GqGe3zh6wRCDB1S9gBecS1JSEXL6MUfKEkAF4DjVxJlqkvTqx0l5y5Di6nOiSw43jbZraVWCC993CJFswNEy6JeP4UiKSw6c0YwtFMc_5HnT4sis4x36JpwYP4yqF2TGiql1nbgBCBDBnmNdvOzgPGTJ2RcWYEiiks2lEHVrBnIfaMLJodsENpVR/s5450/refiners%20fire.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3635" data-original-width="5450" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7GqGe3zh6wRCDB1S9gBecS1JSEXL6MUfKEkAF4DjVxJlqkvTqx0l5y5Di6nOiSw43jbZraVWCC993CJFswNEy6JeP4UiKSw6c0YwtFMc_5HnT4sis4x36JpwYP4yqF2TGiql1nbgBCBDBnmNdvOzgPGTJ2RcWYEiiks2lEHVrBnIfaMLJodsENpVR/w400-h266/refiners%20fire.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>“Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have
tried you in the furnace of affliction.” (Isaiah 48:10 ESV)</b><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Affliction has been the crucible in which I have taken many
turns. Are you in the crucible of affliction right now? If so, name your
affliction. Write its name on an index card. Above your affliction’s name, now, in
larger letters, write the name, “Jesus.” <b>Remember Jesus is always above — and
greater than— our affliction.</b> God, however, will engage us in a process that:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Disorients us<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Strips us of our comforts<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Crushes us </span> </li>
</ul><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">God does this because He is disciplining us and transforming
us into the sainted soldiers that He wants us to be, but He will <i>never</i><b>
</b>let the fire consume us because He has engraved us on the palms of His
hands. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>“But Zion said, “’The Lord has
forsaken me,<br />
the Lord has forgotten me.’”<o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><sup>15 </sup>“Can a mother forget the baby at
her breast<br />
and have no compassion on the child she has borne?<br />
Though she may forget,<br />
I will not forget you!<br />
<sup>16 </sup>See, I have engraved you on the palms of my
hands;<br />
your walls are ever before me.” (Isaiah 49:14-16 NIV)</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Though you are being refined by the fire, the Lord will NEVER
let the fire consume you. His power and love are always over and above your
affliction. I think of the Bible story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from
my Sunday School felt board days. Though they were thrown into the fiery
furnace, the dancing tongues of fire never so much as singed their eyebrows.
The Lord protected them from being consumed. He is protecting you!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p><b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In 2 Corinthians, Paul asked God to remove an affliction in
his life that he called a “thorn.”
Theologians love to debate what that thorn was, exactly, but that’s
beside the point. God answered Paul by saying, “no.” Instead, God said, “<i>My
grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”</i>
Paul then responded, <i>“Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my
weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of
Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions,
and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:7–10 ESV)<o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnkP4k6_Tu_S_R-rd7dFuF_iVQkpSIGBWlDe4MfpjR6IEpcNEWRPA04yavDdC2j1FLJ0AsjUK_paXsZ-GE2OKjmO1Xuzri-AJepKbvgospfHCdjLJaZnBL0NWv0oAHt94PoYpfqMyGLwCzGiViaXxZcJIWEmZZm41-R2RykVbWictwW_tnHsziJjk1/s2574/strength%20in%20scars.weakness.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2574" data-original-width="2000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnkP4k6_Tu_S_R-rd7dFuF_iVQkpSIGBWlDe4MfpjR6IEpcNEWRPA04yavDdC2j1FLJ0AsjUK_paXsZ-GE2OKjmO1Xuzri-AJepKbvgospfHCdjLJaZnBL0NWv0oAHt94PoYpfqMyGLwCzGiViaXxZcJIWEmZZm41-R2RykVbWictwW_tnHsziJjk1/w311-h400/strength%20in%20scars.weakness.jpg" width="311" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><i><br /></i></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">If God were to remove the source of our pain and suffering
every time things got a little uncomfortable, we would never come to experience
His all-sufficient grace. The greater the pain, the greater the degree of
grace. God’s grace grows in direct proportion to the severity of our suffering.
He gives sufficient grace to cover our weakness. I had to learn through my
“thorn” experience that when everything I normally relied upon was either
exhausted or taken away (my self-sufficiency, my lucidity, my strength<i>),
that was the exact moment</i><b> </b>I came to know that Christ truly was
sufficient for my every need. Why does our prideful soul have to dangle,
exhausted, over the crevasse of catastrophe before it will accept God’s grace?
Are you dangling and in need of God’s grace?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Corrie Ten Boom summed it up this way, <i>“You can never
learn that Christ is all you need, until Christ is all you have.” </i>I may have forsaken some of my childish
ways, but I have learned that as I get older, I need to depend on my Heavenly
Father more and more. He <i>is</i> my sufficiency, and apart from Him I can do
nothing (John 15:5). </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>If you would like to receive Christ into your life as Lord and Savior, pray this prayer with me:</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Dear God, I know that I am a sinner. I want to turn from my sins, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe that Jesus Christ is Your Son. I believe He died for my sins and that You raised Him to life. I want Him to come into my heart and to take control of my life. I want to trust Jesus as my Savior and follow Him as my Lord from this day forward. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. </b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Be blessed...</i></span></p></div><a href="https://imageshack.com/i/porYxOYJp" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/924/rYxOYJ.png" /></a><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>ps. Want to read more posts like this? </b>Go to the SUBCRIBE box on my webpage and fill in your contact info. You'll ONLY receive my blog posts (nothing else). <b>Be sure to check your email inbox for a link you'll need to click to confirm your subscription. </b>Thanks for reading...</span></div>Bev Rihtarchik - Walking Well With Godhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18225613427007199391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443269509543825661.post-80573449941259077442022-11-06T16:25:00.000-08:002022-11-06T16:25:45.080-08:00Bloganniversary Post & Special Giveaway<span style="font-family: verdana;">Hi Friend,</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Nine years ago, I sat in my recliner chair which felt more like being strapped into an amusement ride that was far from amusing. "No weight bearing on that knee for six weeks," ordered the surgeon stearnly. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I don't know about you, but after about a week, I was climbing the proverbial walls. And God said (not audibly), "Ok Bev, how about you use that writing gift I gave you for my glory?" And so, the blogging journey began. I have to laugh at how completely clueless I was when I started. I even bought "Blogging for Dummies" lol.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJE3MZ5_8QjirudDX69MZL0UNLYC__mIrp9cj9EGFKDO8CU5Y0HKfYPWhJYefSMbNdSmb7_hc8z7n30SPvNrxY08cGXdvIFqqBMFfOWTjW_Iv1QCPy_sKWKcinjMaJpgVgfN0YiQ82Yy1vweKQQoz2QHyod45KIdFnly6MI9lIzCWLv6mcEn_pY7rU/s274/Blogging%20for%20Dummies.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="274" data-original-width="220" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJE3MZ5_8QjirudDX69MZL0UNLYC__mIrp9cj9EGFKDO8CU5Y0HKfYPWhJYefSMbNdSmb7_hc8z7n30SPvNrxY08cGXdvIFqqBMFfOWTjW_Iv1QCPy_sKWKcinjMaJpgVgfN0YiQ82Yy1vweKQQoz2QHyod45KIdFnly6MI9lIzCWLv6mcEn_pY7rU/w321-h400/Blogging%20for%20Dummies.jpg" width="321" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Through my blog, I was called to start a global Christian non-profit, which is also celebrating nine years and still going. My zealousness out of the gate on these two callings finally caught up with me and left me feeling a bit weary. I clearly needed rest, refreshment, and rejuvenation as well as some long overdue selfcare. I stepped back a bit from both ministries because, frankly,</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> I looked and felt a bit like the characters from "The Walking Dead."</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Selfcare 101</b>: I'd dabbled with acrylics and oil paints in my younger years. In an ambitious moment, I thought, why don't I try watercolors? How hard could it be? After all, as a preschool teacher, I knew kids and watercolors went together like PB&J... Right? <i>I can do this, </i>I coached myself.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9rRjGftbEQPa09eAbBiID8Tznu22m11vgnEMQfZ5sSsUS7XeoHeayyWLoJsqdYHfj_E_xS7w8GlxNUHuIlkRiwbecJR0M31UeC72DTQq_8e5AfPl8-Bo2HbuGtOBblGoAKPqg4cT9yd6hR-4d-Q2E7uloH0OaYMb-M5uhAMlbMmEFSmp450BZJsoR/s1280/watercolors%20preschooler%20painting.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9rRjGftbEQPa09eAbBiID8Tznu22m11vgnEMQfZ5sSsUS7XeoHeayyWLoJsqdYHfj_E_xS7w8GlxNUHuIlkRiwbecJR0M31UeC72DTQq_8e5AfPl8-Bo2HbuGtOBblGoAKPqg4cT9yd6hR-4d-Q2E7uloH0OaYMb-M5uhAMlbMmEFSmp450BZJsoR/w400-h225/watercolors%20preschooler%20painting.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Little did I anticipate, but watercolors kicked my butt. When you combine a recovering perfectionist, static paint, and fluid water you get a whole lot of "out-of-control-color"! I just knew God was going to teach me some Biblical, life precepts through this new hobby. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Perfection and watercolors don't blend well: If I was going to enjoy this, I had to ditch the fear that my version of a peony wasn't going to look like the perfect peonies God creates. I learned to loosen up and go for more of a peony "impression" and that's when it started to become fun.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Complete control is not in the watercolorist's vocabulary (just like complete control is not attainable in life). Even then, the paint, when combined with water and brushed across the paper takes on a life of it's own. If you want it to bleed to the right, it will undoubtedly bleed to the left. As sure as day, the purple lavender sprigs morph with the orangish poppies to make a mud-like mess inbetween. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Watercolors, like life, require time and patience. When I wanted to add a wet paint on top of an already dried application, I often got impatient for the first layer to dry and so when I added the wet, well...I got a color not found on the color wheel lol.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Unlike acrylics and oils -- when you make a mistake, you can easily go back an hour or a day later and simply cover over your mistake. Watercolors don't work that way. Make a mistake? You need to start with a clean slate -- kind of like how Jesus washes our sins (slates) white as snow when we mess up? I learned for every one painting that turned out well, there were at least ten others that looked like my preschoolers had painted them. God LOVES a humble and contrite heart -- I'm definitely being humbled!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I could go on and on, but we're <b>here to celebrate</b>, <b>right?</b> To celebrate nine (Wow!) wonderful years of meeting some terrifically gifted writers across the globe, I'm doing a drawing for <b>one pack of twelve floral watercolor notecards </b>to the "lucky" person whose name is drawn.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">There are 3 each, of 4 different designs. Cards are single panel on premium linen notecard paper. Packs come decoratively wrapped for gift giving (gifting yourself or gifting another). </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifUN-86V084DP456Vks5gWaUBS40_fShuGdQZ0c-aReP2Deh3yk9WEggkA4RiVyIX4s_OApUH1BhrIyk4aWDVGzinhLiq_YvwAbhdRoJW0BYdMFRnGdXAw-s82_1J-C5Au9XBqFoPow5Kzn8uf5FO2OYC64R_5F3LMiVedm7mAdm7pIK2A5-YW_of1/s3997/watercolor%204%20card%20sample%207.2022.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2715" data-original-width="3997" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifUN-86V084DP456Vks5gWaUBS40_fShuGdQZ0c-aReP2Deh3yk9WEggkA4RiVyIX4s_OApUH1BhrIyk4aWDVGzinhLiq_YvwAbhdRoJW0BYdMFRnGdXAw-s82_1J-C5Au9XBqFoPow5Kzn8uf5FO2OYC64R_5F3LMiVedm7mAdm7pIK2A5-YW_of1/w400-h271/watercolor%204%20card%20sample%207.2022.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Leave a COMMENT on my BLOG or the FACEBOOK or INSTAGRAM post where you read this and you'll <u><span style="color: red;">automatically be entered in the drawing.</span></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>I'm also <span style="color: red;"><u>selling my packs of cards during the holiday season</u>.</span> If you'd like to purchase some, here's the scoop:</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: verdana; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwFBsBm5bq-ga-13qhNPwRcwiG9exEsBL4vZDqQDh1p-xNnAzwAVrNxhTTOSlcnb98PmIPSAW2FIOCKyGs6QRLlwCnJXh8jIJGnTIAx8jk-EnieTi9M4-APLoQ8bVcfJ2tQx0kUAjBCqxyUQDpTFFe5vq5QDnyBZpcR6fDt8rO3DSDnfdHKUTggSsS/s4032/watercolor%205%20pack%20sample.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwFBsBm5bq-ga-13qhNPwRcwiG9exEsBL4vZDqQDh1p-xNnAzwAVrNxhTTOSlcnb98PmIPSAW2FIOCKyGs6QRLlwCnJXh8jIJGnTIAx8jk-EnieTi9M4-APLoQ8bVcfJ2tQx0kUAjBCqxyUQDpTFFe5vq5QDnyBZpcR6fDt8rO3DSDnfdHKUTggSsS/w300-h400/watercolor%205%20pack%20sample.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Christmas shopping anyone?</i></b></span></div><div style="font-family: verdana; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Private Message me or Email me: bevritter413@gmail.com to order.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><u>Notecards:</u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>$14./pack (pack includes 12 cards, 3 each of 4 designs)</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Shipping: $5./one pack -- $5.60/2 packs -- $6./3 packs -- More? ask me.</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Shipping to multiple addresses is more. </b>Only US - sorry my International friends</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><u>Payment:</u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Venmo: @bevritter413</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Zelle: 919 649 4454</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Check: Bev Rihtarchik, 103 Silver Lining Ln., Cary, NC 27513</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Cash & Credit card -- in person only</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I can deliver locally in the greater Cary area.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>A special thank you to all of you who have read my writing and encouraged me along this journey. I write for an audience of One, so if one earthly person is encouraged or drawn closer to Christ, then I will have attained that for which I was called.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Be blessed...</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg1upBO25FfIvwM00bENKvVOI4OA38Yw-amwiA7psI0fB53ZFK7-yq3RSm9ZHanuhVBfX3xVk_jSe0x-zPA3WaVK-KB66LsQGI5v9rZ8E0QDh9IA4phYSWG-6528YMnhWlHrowOkTeN3v1G41r12kC06qkmr-jt9pYxnIwAJNDpeSe0QPxkkGBzzwmF" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; font-family: verdana; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="250" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg1upBO25FfIvwM00bENKvVOI4OA38Yw-amwiA7psI0fB53ZFK7-yq3RSm9ZHanuhVBfX3xVk_jSe0x-zPA3WaVK-KB66LsQGI5v9rZ8E0QDh9IA4phYSWG-6528YMnhWlHrowOkTeN3v1G41r12kC06qkmr-jt9pYxnIwAJNDpeSe0QPxkkGBzzwmF" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>ps. If you've been enjoying what you read here, I invite you to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly blog (and nothing else). </b>Enter your contact info in the SUBSCIBE box and then <b>be sure to check your email inbox for a special link to confirm your subscription. </b>You can cancel any time. Thanks for reading...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><br /></span></div>Bev Rihtarchik - Walking Well With Godhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18225613427007199391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443269509543825661.post-63042506831799297172022-10-30T11:59:00.000-07:002022-10-30T11:59:03.820-07:00Allowing for the Mystery of God<div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Hey Friend,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">If I had a God around whom I could totally and completely
wrap my finite brain, He wouldn’t be a God worth worshiping. Trying to
comprehend the mysteries of God is like a preschooler attempting to grasp
quantum physics. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I asked God to heal my first marriage, to remove the “thorn” of
mental illness, to turn a prodigal back toward home and God was silent. I’ve
sat with friends who’ve lost children to drug overdose, illness/disease, and
suicide. I still have no good answers as to Why? I can only resolve that one
day, God will make clear His perfect will…and then, I will understand.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCWnKjSlb7zxheNql2EQQJsKm5bL4tZDgwFJhxKY4vYcE_YqdblUI0mpuuLu08GiuW6rUQoNCIL-5mwApmNpsOSf7hKDFdeXNlZCrE4qchMTzejli7GLIVJr8aL3MP7isaAlfewCXOBJafWcQ8BmRZ_UAWLsM4MMRsdP0hMePf9K-svsWCkA5hf4HS/s2047/mirror%20relection%20boy%20black%20and%20white.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2047" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCWnKjSlb7zxheNql2EQQJsKm5bL4tZDgwFJhxKY4vYcE_YqdblUI0mpuuLu08GiuW6rUQoNCIL-5mwApmNpsOSf7hKDFdeXNlZCrE4qchMTzejli7GLIVJr8aL3MP7isaAlfewCXOBJafWcQ8BmRZ_UAWLsM4MMRsdP0hMePf9K-svsWCkA5hf4HS/w300-h400/mirror%20relection%20boy%20black%20and%20white.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>“Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections
in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I
know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely,
just as God knows me completely.” (1 Corinthians 13:12 NLT)</b></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Prayers for loved ones or for relief from suffering, that
confound our paralyzed heart, will stretch our faith. What can help, in the
especially difficult times, is to remember that God’s timing is rarely our own.
Things may seem to race from bad to worse, but God has complete authority over
the situation. One of God’s greatest gifts to us is how He allows us to see,
perhaps much later, how His timing and His plans are perfect. Can you go back
in your life and think about times when, if you had received what you wanted in
the moment, you would not have grown in your spiritual life?</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I got pregnant easily with my daughter. I thought the same
would be true for my second child. I was heartbroken when years went by and
still no baby. I believe, looking back, I needed to learn to be content with
what God had blessed me and let God’s will — not my own — guide my life. When
it seems like all hope is lost, it may just mean that God isn’t finished yet —
and remember, His timeline is eternal. I eventually had my son and my
heart overflowed with gratitude. But, I still would be called to trust in God’s
inherent goodness even if my son was never born. Hope never gets lost, it is
just taking another way. Doubt’s haunting voice will never have the last word. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I love Ruth Bell Graham’s mother’s heart. She prayed her
children through all sorts of trials and tragedies. Prayer has always been a
mother’s default setting.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">“When I am dealing with an all-powerful, all-knowing God,
I, as a mere mortal, must offer my petitions not only with persistence but also
with patience. Someday I’ll know why.” – Ruth Bell Graham</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTyTGHVdBOvRBXJT4GrxLh3YD9UlOW66EDZ5X9AoVhUc5tqqUxexR4WL2VTAELZI7GOG74bUme4iadWZ2KW-jcAVkCpDBavcFOmmBg54nQ1b2_OqJNrMTVdBCe_6N3cWCE2gILsxDeUgUJ2kYYGkfyk1EAm-Z2dOyDqyGV4wn2GccHlFJNh2SBHeyP/s7360/mother%20and%20baby%20in%20arms.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4912" data-original-width="7360" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTyTGHVdBOvRBXJT4GrxLh3YD9UlOW66EDZ5X9AoVhUc5tqqUxexR4WL2VTAELZI7GOG74bUme4iadWZ2KW-jcAVkCpDBavcFOmmBg54nQ1b2_OqJNrMTVdBCe_6N3cWCE2gILsxDeUgUJ2kYYGkfyk1EAm-Z2dOyDqyGV4wn2GccHlFJNh2SBHeyP/w400-h268/mother%20and%20baby%20in%20arms.jpg" width="400" /></a></i></div><i><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></i><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I have to remind myself, a lot, that His ways and His
thoughts are “higher” than my own (Isaiah 55:9). God is never flummoxed or
frustrated, and nothing can stop Him from carrying out His purposes — not even
death. Much like a rainbow after a cloudburst, God shows up when we least
expect Him. The Lord moves at His own pace and He’s never late. What we now see
dimly in a mirror, we will see clearly, and God will give us complete
understanding in heaven. In every mystery there is an element of truth. Often
it is hidden or undetected. The author of all the mysteries will one day sit
with us and will point out how what we couldn’t understand then, now overflows
with His never-ending grace and wisdom.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">So, how can we know the unknowable? How can we understand
the mysteries of God? Hold this thought gently in your open hands: There
is no understanding of God, and His mysteries, apart from a personal relationship
with His Son. Jesus said that when we have seen Him, we have seen the Father.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Would it not make great sense, then, for us to desire, with
all our heart, to be in an intimate relationship with the lover of our
soul? One day we will understand the word of God in its fullness, and He
will reveal to us the mysteries that presently our minds just cannot
understand. On our own, we can’t please God, but we can, through His Son, be
part of the most holy and fulfilling relationship this life affords. I know that
if I can’t be healed, then I want to be tenderly held in God’s embrace.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVvJGGGbASa-TjXAmEepuDvZJpibIOm0AWJMVZdRZUstizLwufoNN2Qyj4eaS0-hrcO1kAcMjiwKdOz5AbERohEBhA_7LFqDJcqGHI_QaZRxn_unZ9UZ6a2DKktJ7Sw_6HZVpy9UOCOqrDo8z1Bvxqwi9NCAiRFt3AqoDqx0E3Fdk4Kf31I1XgCJ_h/s3163/boy%20lifting%20arms%20to%20be%20held.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3163" data-original-width="2908" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVvJGGGbASa-TjXAmEepuDvZJpibIOm0AWJMVZdRZUstizLwufoNN2Qyj4eaS0-hrcO1kAcMjiwKdOz5AbERohEBhA_7LFqDJcqGHI_QaZRxn_unZ9UZ6a2DKktJ7Sw_6HZVpy9UOCOqrDo8z1Bvxqwi9NCAiRFt3AqoDqx0E3Fdk4Kf31I1XgCJ_h/w368-h400/boy%20lifting%20arms%20to%20be%20held.jpg" width="368" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">If you are struggling with the answer to a prayer, you’ve
seemingly been given, or you flat out don’t like how life’s play is unfolding, <i>do
know</i><b> </b>that God often doesn’t give us what we wish for. He gives us
what we need. Bad things will happen to “good” people in this world, but take
heart, this world is not the end. When our tender flesh is scraped along the
concrete of life, we have a choice: Will we, or will we not, adopt a more
eternal perspective? </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>“We do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting
away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary
troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So
we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen
is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16–18 NIV)</b><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">One day we will see God’s good plan in it all. We will have
a great reward on that day, and it will be glorious!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Dear Heavenly Father, I admit there are times I don't like your answers to my prayers. Help me to humbly submit myself to Your sovereign will. I take heart that my prayers are "deathless" and will definitely be answered in eternity. When I don't understand, enable me to turn my heart to what I DO know to be true about you. Give me the faith I need to believe in your goodness, mercy, and faithfulness. I praise you that you are not a God I can put in a box and fully understand. I allow for your divine mystery knowing one day I will fully understand what now I only see dimly. May your perfect love cast out the doubt and fear in my life and draw me into your loving embrace as I wait upon You. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.</b></span></p></div><a href="https://imageshack.com/i/porYxOYJp" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/924/rYxOYJ.png" /></a><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>ps. If you like what you read here today, </b>I invite you to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly blog (and nothing else). After you fill in your contact info in the SUBSCRIBE box, <b>be sure to check your email inbox (and spam filter) for an email with a confirmation link to complete your subscription. </b>Thanks for reading...</span></div>Bev Rihtarchik - Walking Well With Godhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18225613427007199391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443269509543825661.post-37786868351777453132022-10-21T13:05:00.000-07:002022-10-21T13:05:37.776-07:00A New Way of Praying<div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Hey Friend,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Even as a child I was a bit of a worrywart. Are you a
kindred spirit? My mother would say, “There you go again, putting the cart
before the horse.” I always wanted to know what was coming so that I could be
prepared. Desperately seeking to control is symptomatic of living in fear and
not trust. In this case, getting ahead of myself was not a good thing, but when
it comes to praying and persevering, I am learning that I need to thank God, in
advance, for what He is going to do.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Yes, we are to be grateful to God, after the fact, to thank
Him for our blessings, but we are compelled to practice a new way of praying.
God invites us to come boldly before His throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16). We <i>know</i>
God will answer when we call on Him. The Bible reassures us of this over and
over again. Therefore, we ought to thank Him for the answer that He is <i>going</i>
to give. God wants us to wait expectantly for His answer. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9RFT99aL-umifdxfkO16weZHhQhgxtG36-i5nJkdy5_iW6wS5u6aLH5qnFHrngVtfEk56HhvfhUsIXayP60s67gk3gDOUnv1-Syml76sPldMtv6xyW9dzgahMXuPv1zTab0eaDKrHhJlmHyo7S46EszZSJR2RAYnSYsadGuFRJNsicSnscoNMz2B4/s6016/praying%20girl%20hands%20folded.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4016" data-original-width="6016" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9RFT99aL-umifdxfkO16weZHhQhgxtG36-i5nJkdy5_iW6wS5u6aLH5qnFHrngVtfEk56HhvfhUsIXayP60s67gk3gDOUnv1-Syml76sPldMtv6xyW9dzgahMXuPv1zTab0eaDKrHhJlmHyo7S46EszZSJR2RAYnSYsadGuFRJNsicSnscoNMz2B4/w400-h268/praying%20girl%20hands%20folded.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Maybe you have been praying and waiting patiently, i.e.,
enduring, suffering, persevering, and wondering if the Lord is really going to
show up? Is that you today? Is it possible to wait expectantly <i>and</i> wait
patiently? From firsthand experience, I know the answer to this question is,
“yes.” Just as joy and pain can coexist, so can we wait expectantly and with
patience marked with endurance and suffering. Hold fast and know His grace is
more than sufficient to see you through.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I grew up in the South Hills of Pittsburgh and the only way
to get from my home into the city was to go through a long, dark tunnel fondly
referred to, by locals, as the Fort Pitt Tubes. While zooming at high speed,
through the dark, claustrophobic tunnel, you get antsy to reach the light at
the other side. It’s a hair-raising stretch to travel. I often found myself
holding my breath wondering, <i>how much longer until I get to the end of this
blasted tunnel?<o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIZkDImOHBMii8EvG6Y6IeF3xC6cEhypHDKsVE6VajqAsa7nPmgTuktJ8rfpxBqJ4rhkw1DXTK_w3GE44GPxzVeIhJ5xgKBQ__U-PVQM8wCTc-vq1BXKDZwvYsvM7Si_5PZT31gD9pOCsOi9-072koMSL3p3xYrw-4gp_LshZS4oiU_xS7B9x9t03-/s1000/Fort%20Pitt%20Tunnel%2010.2022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIZkDImOHBMii8EvG6Y6IeF3xC6cEhypHDKsVE6VajqAsa7nPmgTuktJ8rfpxBqJ4rhkw1DXTK_w3GE44GPxzVeIhJ5xgKBQ__U-PVQM8wCTc-vq1BXKDZwvYsvM7Si_5PZT31gD9pOCsOi9-072koMSL3p3xYrw-4gp_LshZS4oiU_xS7B9x9t03-/w400-h300/Fort%20Pitt%20Tunnel%2010.2022.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;">A</span></o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;">t the very moment when my knuckles grew white from
clenching the steering wheel, and my face turned bluish from lack of oxygen,
when my patience was spent, it was then I’d shoot out into the awesome expanse
of sunlight. In a flip-of-the-switch sunrise, the glistening buildings of the
city burst onto the horizon. Simultaneously I’d gulp in air, relax my clenched
fingers, and see the breathtaking beauty that I thought would never come.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">How do you know that you aren’t in that split second before
the glorious end of your tunnel? Perhaps the answer to your prayer upon prayer
is up ahead but just hasn’t happened yet. Maybe the pink-hewn sunrise is on the
other side of the dark, moonless night. God has a way of surprising us when we
least expect it. Often the answer lies just around the next bend, but we need
to hang on to see what God’s love has in store for us. We need to trust Him.
It’s imperative that we believe in what is unseen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is
unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2
Corinthians 4:18 NIV)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">God answers prayers in a multitude of ways. I’ve experienced
many <i>“God-winks.”<b> </b></i>These are answers to prayers that we haven’t
even prayed — like when God surprises us with a rainbow at the end of a violent
storm, or the person in front of you in the coffee shop drive-through pays for
your coffee. God says, “I love you and I’m for you,” even when we didn’t ask.
Have you ever barely had a prayer pass over your lips and God is already
answering it? It’s an answer to prayer that reinforces the fact God knew what you
were going to ask even before your mind formed the words. Those are, what I
call, the <i>“instantaneous answers.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOx212eZSskwuhlNXsjzLEcjPMiavgQVMMni5-357S5y_gvJ9A3XKlGu36CZ3UHBGGrRRofEbgiqUFFLUT2Anl2bCwBhtTkpG7qBdx6_63MS-yXYT9K6LiuGTDFn9dIX55NV3pBsRddIag2Qq_WKEn7mzSZqwHzcVvwYUMRGy3QFsQx80R2pKzCWWk/s640/rainbow%20with%20water%20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOx212eZSskwuhlNXsjzLEcjPMiavgQVMMni5-357S5y_gvJ9A3XKlGu36CZ3UHBGGrRRofEbgiqUFFLUT2Anl2bCwBhtTkpG7qBdx6_63MS-yXYT9K6LiuGTDFn9dIX55NV3pBsRddIag2Qq_WKEn7mzSZqwHzcVvwYUMRGy3QFsQx80R2pKzCWWk/w400-h268/rainbow%20with%20water%20.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><i><br /></i></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">More often than not, we put in endless days and nights —
many, filled with tears. We are brought to the end of ourselves and to the
point of giving up. We wait patiently (enduring, suffering) with virtually
nothing to show for our effort. These are the prayers of the persevering heart.
God loves you and longs to draw near to comfort you in the waiting.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">“I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to
you.” (John 14:18 KJB)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Like the Good Shepherd who goes after the lost sheep, though
the way is long and hard and uphill, He’ll persevere too. He knows where His
sheep are, and He will find the way to them. He will find the way to you. This
gives us the hope we need to continue pressing on. Just as the lost sheep may
be right over the next hill, your answer to prayer may be as well. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>What about you? Have you ever tried thanking God, in advance, for the sovereign way He is going to answer your prayer? Do you find it hard to wait patiently and expectantly at the same time? Is there a person or a situation you'd like me to pray for -- feel free to leave a first name or initials in the Comments and I would be honored to pray for who or what is weighing on your heart.</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Be blessed...</i></span></p></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><a href="https://imageshack.com/i/porYxOYJp" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="175" src="http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/924/rYxOYJ.png" width="250" /></a><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>ps. If you've enjoyed what you've read, here, today, </b>might you want to Subscribe to my almost weekly blog posts (and nothing else). Leave your contact info in the SUBSCRIBE box above and <b>be sure to check your email inbox (spam filter too) in order to click on the confirmation link. </b>Thanks for reading...</span></div>Bev Rihtarchik - Walking Well With Godhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18225613427007199391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443269509543825661.post-61694989639803878702022-09-14T12:20:00.000-07:002022-09-14T12:20:27.385-07:00Climbing My Matterhorn -- A Book Review<span style="font-family: verdana;">Hey Friend,</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I recently had the pleasure of reading a book written by someone I really admire -- who has embodied perseverance and shown me how to keep putting one foot in front of the other, even when dealing with chronic pain and illness.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3t1wV78UcKSMPTPix0x7bDFY_62oQe91-hTNo9Qq-t3wAhjjovI6N4VtqoxmzwObzMH7Yt7_DoNE91Psqt2ubNosDfJo4fERyJbaLj800sMGkVdTHic9e8Y1FJ7Nc2WQkkG6rMkaw93-jVP-UaPUbXb1yoUfdIVOdEQFHlHFCC1E6kWHPjxQTa3aV/s5568/matterhorn%209.22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3712" data-original-width="5568" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3t1wV78UcKSMPTPix0x7bDFY_62oQe91-hTNo9Qq-t3wAhjjovI6N4VtqoxmzwObzMH7Yt7_DoNE91Psqt2ubNosDfJo4fERyJbaLj800sMGkVdTHic9e8Y1FJ7Nc2WQkkG6rMkaw93-jVP-UaPUbXb1yoUfdIVOdEQFHlHFCC1E6kWHPjxQTa3aV/w400-h266/matterhorn%209.22.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The full title of Lisa Aleo's book is: <i>Climbing My Matterhorn -- My story of meningitis, migraine, and miracles. </i>You may or may not personally suffer from migraine attacks and wonder, <i>what's in this book for me?</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">My answer is, "Plenty!"</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Lisa's book is so much more than a memoir detailing her journey, through more than a decade, suffering from debilitating migraine attacks. It is a field guide for anyone who is living with chronic pain or illness. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I found her voice to be raw, honest, and sincere. This is an excellent book for fellow sojourners who are waiting, often impatiently, for the "not yet." I love how Lisa comes alongside the reader -- as if she's reading your mind -- to deliver a message of hope to the hearts who need it.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKheqN1_PMVsqaYVOwrED2dF5v8wvbHjCw5YsK7_uZEROVgGYsuw3jBCvru6HviROnlYGIjXPI1--opWUuHORJHuJh3Bm_DgJA50G7hrIE8_XfK5_z0H-pm29PLOYJbtXus6jpJ8FQGBTodz3NBGCUXh84ZuT9OrZ4RnWg_QtTKMYZNvYO_Zhlh_J4/s5184/migraine%209.22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKheqN1_PMVsqaYVOwrED2dF5v8wvbHjCw5YsK7_uZEROVgGYsuw3jBCvru6HviROnlYGIjXPI1--opWUuHORJHuJh3Bm_DgJA50G7hrIE8_XfK5_z0H-pm29PLOYJbtXus6jpJ8FQGBTodz3NBGCUXh84ZuT9OrZ4RnWg_QtTKMYZNvYO_Zhlh_J4/w400-h266/migraine%209.22.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Lisa's promise is this: In her book, the reader will learn how to experience joy and peace in the midst of unpredictable pain and suffering from migraine disease (or other chronic illness). Learning to surrender anxious control, accepting each moment as it unfolds, while learning to manage the disease is key to living with a chronic illness.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The section of well-researched resources for those living with migraine disease, alone, is well worth the purchase.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Lisa bravely shares her story of living with chronic migraine through the lens of her life-long faith while embracing the glorious mystery of God's grace.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkPMf9taRTzRK88s-wJ2z6ZLT2iU2kn1NjnhR_GToF0A36Pk9p7Zfa011oEoFp44gi1DKTSaSGuKDuNAnr_SFXtnxLszzjaUMSM0SAFmEXkqOxXN7emXO0VcwpLcpEgMwzX44Z2rCJiRrcTk2GvmAyeBvtWzOvKW1MEU4c7BsbxMro_gFhD6hWtXjm/s640/Lisa%20Aleo%20headshot%209.2022.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="295" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkPMf9taRTzRK88s-wJ2z6ZLT2iU2kn1NjnhR_GToF0A36Pk9p7Zfa011oEoFp44gi1DKTSaSGuKDuNAnr_SFXtnxLszzjaUMSM0SAFmEXkqOxXN7emXO0VcwpLcpEgMwzX44Z2rCJiRrcTk2GvmAyeBvtWzOvKW1MEU4c7BsbxMro_gFhD6hWtXjm/w185-h400/Lisa%20Aleo%20headshot%209.2022.PNG" width="185" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Lisa Aleo (author and friend) is a wife, mother of four grown sons, and a former R.N. She helps the reader navigate the peaks and valleys of daily living with chronic migraine. Lisa offers hope to others experiencing their own chronic illness journey. She works as a migraine advocate to reduce the stigma of this debilitating disease. You can read more from Lisa at her blog: <a href="http://lisaembracinggrace.blogspot.com">Click here to visit Lisa's blog</a></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thinking about purchasing Lisa's book? <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Climbing-My-Matterhorn-meningitis-migraine/dp/B0B28N725C/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1UYEFOVW283Y0&keywords=climbing+my+matterhorn&qid=1663179835&sprefix=climbing+my+matterhorn%2Caps%2C72&sr=8-1">Click here to view her book on Amazon</a></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Nuggets of wisdom:</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>~ <i>Accepting each moment as it was and not as I THOUGHT it should be was another lesson of survival.</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>~ Some days I had to say, "no for now" so that I could better enjoy a more resounding "YES" in the future.</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>~ Even now, on my toughest days, I utilize my breath to regain focus and ground me so as not to rise into panic mode.</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>"Life is hard. Life is messy. Life is beautiful." says Lisa. Her book will encourage you to never give up hope...</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>What about you? Do you live with chronic pain or illness? Any words of encouragement you'd like to share? Feel free to leave Lisa some lovin' in the Comments below.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Thanks and be blessed...</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhoj3HK2Cr75Z6wO-2wzwMIE2K4WRx0iySyvm_wQSGqcarX64uPsoCmGJY0PH84rlNce9vRqBVrXdLJdW74X53ZRgXKRfWicJiIsdwYUTwU1L17AXyN36ri-E3VejwwhGyAFPS_FJDrkuE4oQwSQQqHn8UOJ39HfOCO23qr_CN9aiqsadj9d0fbo7Q0" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="250" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhoj3HK2Cr75Z6wO-2wzwMIE2K4WRx0iySyvm_wQSGqcarX64uPsoCmGJY0PH84rlNce9vRqBVrXdLJdW74X53ZRgXKRfWicJiIsdwYUTwU1L17AXyN36ri-E3VejwwhGyAFPS_FJDrkuE4oQwSQQqHn8UOJ39HfOCO23qr_CN9aiqsadj9d0fbo7Q0" width="320" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>ps. If you've enjoyed what you've read here today, might you want to SUBSCRIBE to my blog (and nothing else)?? </b>After you enter your email address in the SUBSCRIBE box, be sure to check YOUR email (and spam filter) for a confirmation email to which you will need to respond. Thanks for reading...</span></div>Bev Rihtarchik - Walking Well With Godhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18225613427007199391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443269509543825661.post-77924288506568864542022-09-01T06:48:00.000-07:002022-09-01T06:48:07.474-07:00Mountaintop Reflections for Everyday Valley Living<span style="font-family: verdana;">Hey Friend,</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's been less than a week since we packed up our SUV and bid our mountaintop retreat a sad farewell. I so wished I could pack the intangibles and bring them home with us -- the deep cerulean hues of the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains, the whiffs of pine that tickled our noses along peaceful paths outlining placid mountain lakes, the crescendoing hum of the cicadas's symphonic prelude to the brilliant evening stars, the cozy warmth of the suede-soft blanket which held the night chill at bay.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Maybe it was the fact our mountain home sat perched way up high on the hill, but I felt closer to God somehow. I could focus on His Creation, His precepts, and take in the beauty surrounding me without the noisy din of the wayward world tugging annoyingly on my sleeve. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I suppose that's why they deem what I encountered, a "mountaintop experience." We need those every so often in order to have hope in our everyday valley living. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I invite you to glean peace, truth, hope, strength, or what your soul needs from the Scriptures I've attached to the photos I snapped. In this way, I've brought some of the intangibles of my mountaintop experience back home to share with you, and to refresh my soul when it feels weary...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLa_Om3WrkGHlIpqkiy-aSLVcrYOLwx6NYinsLnEeX6yeKAWCB5bz9S6Dl-6BMRGL1QAFt7ZlT7bO_ElMim9RyWZzlRlE5KUql9KZCfEG1HVHuZ6IylkCFkauGMy5Da7ufomsQez_AAisXpIfh8t3gdEalaDB36GrWKLYcjby1xetXV2WTHO8yiW6c/s6130/Valle%20Crucis%20blue%20ridge%20mtns%208.22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4087" data-original-width="6130" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLa_Om3WrkGHlIpqkiy-aSLVcrYOLwx6NYinsLnEeX6yeKAWCB5bz9S6Dl-6BMRGL1QAFt7ZlT7bO_ElMim9RyWZzlRlE5KUql9KZCfEG1HVHuZ6IylkCFkauGMy5Da7ufomsQez_AAisXpIfh8t3gdEalaDB36GrWKLYcjby1xetXV2WTHO8yiW6c/w400-h266/Valle%20Crucis%20blue%20ridge%20mtns%208.22.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>"Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the Lord who has compassion on you. (Isaiah 54:10)</i></b></span></div><div><div class="passage-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7em; margin-top: 50px; min-width: 0px;"><div class="passage-content passage-class-0" style="box-sizing: border-box; min-width: 0px;"><div class="version-NIV result-text-style-normal text-html" style="box-sizing: border-box; min-width: 0px;"><div class="std-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; min-width: 0px;"><div class="poetry top-05" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; margin-top: 1em; min-width: 0px; padding-left: 2.6em; position: relative;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibd2D2mIGCmULH7DU2C0gn8ZxFT08n52DjVklbyxKZs6KUMexLRN94b7Uzv5tp6aklLC0-limV7S4sMIQt4E0IgdQUrnRbzDWZpzqfrGvjCwu4Dd1cgJIuudXpjC5E-4huq1eHSlRzg0-3IVuRU4rFDBn6xzjwGDgicy84OtG2DrSeMvfoDw1R4Fa6/s4032/Valle%20Crucis%20bass%20lake%20loop%208.2022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibd2D2mIGCmULH7DU2C0gn8ZxFT08n52DjVklbyxKZs6KUMexLRN94b7Uzv5tp6aklLC0-limV7S4sMIQt4E0IgdQUrnRbzDWZpzqfrGvjCwu4Dd1cgJIuudXpjC5E-4huq1eHSlRzg0-3IVuRU4rFDBn6xzjwGDgicy84OtG2DrSeMvfoDw1R4Fa6/w400-h300/Valle%20Crucis%20bass%20lake%20loop%208.2022.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijQMUjMb2TOROFcjQOAs5A6Pvi3iP4B5ETcONIf0JAE1NyyUyJ1b-3IO_P-lRScdXsku5X7AqzlhfS9IXkeEiIA_gj6IpXSjAedfiLseO_WMe_Xe7UqQn7dTxoTfXH0q7QhiIk9I7cNO01aWFF8bsnYHNIq6x9G5812kuP5ayHhcLWExLXzzfsdKEd/s4032/Valle%20Crucis%20waterlilies%208.2022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijQMUjMb2TOROFcjQOAs5A6Pvi3iP4B5ETcONIf0JAE1NyyUyJ1b-3IO_P-lRScdXsku5X7AqzlhfS9IXkeEiIA_gj6IpXSjAedfiLseO_WMe_Xe7UqQn7dTxoTfXH0q7QhiIk9I7cNO01aWFF8bsnYHNIq6x9G5812kuP5ayHhcLWExLXzzfsdKEd/w400-h300/Valle%20Crucis%20waterlilies%208.2022.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p class="line" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial; line-height: 2.4rem; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-width: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><i>The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.</i></b></p><p class="line" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial; line-height: 2.4rem; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-width: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><i>He makes me lie down in green pastures,</i></b></p><p class="line" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial; line-height: 2.4rem; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-width: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><i>he leads me beside still waters,</i></b></p><p class="line" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial; line-height: 2.4rem; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-width: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><i>he refreshes my soul. </i></b></p><p class="line" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial; line-height: 2.4rem; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-width: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><i>(Psalm 23:1-2)</i></b></p><p class="line" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial; line-height: 2.4rem; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-width: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></p><p class="line" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 2.4rem; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-width: 0px; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdClHxKWVy6WKn2QHjzTlsqjGLdaAZq75NRV8-RI_J9jqInHtoEJuMPRycRmG8E8kyPRsagNZg5tJIg35z2IeJ8OBEittVV34Mzr0aVyHK1Wwxp_stA9ZHbipNI5-8saSEHXwAcB3TYgBg-bdKzr-1fy4AyX6G2LVkMTnhqm43Txmq1hikKLYMCIxN/s4032/Valle%20Crucis%20stream%208.22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdClHxKWVy6WKn2QHjzTlsqjGLdaAZq75NRV8-RI_J9jqInHtoEJuMPRycRmG8E8kyPRsagNZg5tJIg35z2IeJ8OBEittVV34Mzr0aVyHK1Wwxp_stA9ZHbipNI5-8saSEHXwAcB3TYgBg-bdKzr-1fy4AyX6G2LVkMTnhqm43Txmq1hikKLYMCIxN/w300-h400/Valle%20Crucis%20stream%208.22.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p class="line" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial; font-weight: bold; line-height: 2.4rem; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-width: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them." (John 7:37-38)</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYLkGUQRdSJ50QaQ8vgk1mSDcXgt7S_7mbaPBJdHGUxzN1IkTaQ8dkOZYKxh1Aw8aoBEOEb5eQIAH0jWPVGqBCsm6-xQ6YB-9438sGOr7w8vBQtEXUK0XuFXD1Z6fP0n05fqYqMV49IcKwA9f4_d6pe0wOHDCFsH8HjqIyhMhJWwPyyxQWISbOS4rd/s2964/Valle%20Crucis%20waterfall%208.22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2768" data-original-width="2964" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYLkGUQRdSJ50QaQ8vgk1mSDcXgt7S_7mbaPBJdHGUxzN1IkTaQ8dkOZYKxh1Aw8aoBEOEb5eQIAH0jWPVGqBCsm6-xQ6YB-9438sGOr7w8vBQtEXUK0XuFXD1Z6fP0n05fqYqMV49IcKwA9f4_d6pe0wOHDCFsH8HjqIyhMhJWwPyyxQWISbOS4rd/w400-h374/Valle%20Crucis%20waterfall%208.22.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: 700;">Then the angel showed me the river of water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. (Revelation 22:1)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgugfdi1bdhG3-mhkPcqJpbtsbivHN9VVwVVeMDbey8zwQa1TGEeazvcO9-r5z_lnCMBf6wcnX7JZhVf-n4KN3AGDgrDXTbvXGhTpBX7FCT9XJ_fRml4CxdFv_t3DehSKpBilSwWEa6VRKQucTWX5osWOY2lw1OkXaJF8kmWjlN7CoG4Txv7euJU8eH/s4032/Valle%20Crucis%20pink%20flowers%208.22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgugfdi1bdhG3-mhkPcqJpbtsbivHN9VVwVVeMDbey8zwQa1TGEeazvcO9-r5z_lnCMBf6wcnX7JZhVf-n4KN3AGDgrDXTbvXGhTpBX7FCT9XJ_fRml4CxdFv_t3DehSKpBilSwWEa6VRKQucTWX5osWOY2lw1OkXaJF8kmWjlN7CoG4Txv7euJU8eH/w300-h400/Valle%20Crucis%20pink%20flowers%208.22.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipxNRXb4_Q2QVI1yaPD7WVq9VzaeOLItxpWXQyJ2JuGXxGYYjWFsoIz1GBPxkMY2cN3K0Ue1d8AjmDx6Y8C9q_yggD6tzywDMeg2rGM0ANXe-D1_OxIxSoUsCd5_i3iI8fyMZhiB3Om0H9Nahp0EaaRiJCZrtLECoEHIS0eIrSTDZqvxLJIu4tlb6T/s3024/Valle%20Crucis%20yellow%20flowers%208.22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipxNRXb4_Q2QVI1yaPD7WVq9VzaeOLItxpWXQyJ2JuGXxGYYjWFsoIz1GBPxkMY2cN3K0Ue1d8AjmDx6Y8C9q_yggD6tzywDMeg2rGM0ANXe-D1_OxIxSoUsCd5_i3iI8fyMZhiB3Om0H9Nahp0EaaRiJCZrtLECoEHIS0eIrSTDZqvxLJIu4tlb6T/s320/Valle%20Crucis%20yellow%20flowers%208.22.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: 700;">"Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?" (Luke 12:27-28)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></div></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHNacqhKRkXG4QNbEz6ayHImOym23fUc3R_FntzPhJU54fvPbabxEqywLws6d8I6t7FfRQotUAIj4v1QjKOifVeOjRQQC-LyvoAic3qls4LkTszAmyAsnTLR_d6y4eFaEDx6lvGiQzqhyTYyoGOBsDCjfVShTYNg_8-YsvxVDKBXgLGQ4omCcXYwAR/s4032/Valle%20Crucis%20pathway%208.22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHNacqhKRkXG4QNbEz6ayHImOym23fUc3R_FntzPhJU54fvPbabxEqywLws6d8I6t7FfRQotUAIj4v1QjKOifVeOjRQQC-LyvoAic3qls4LkTszAmyAsnTLR_d6y4eFaEDx6lvGiQzqhyTYyoGOBsDCjfVShTYNg_8-YsvxVDKBXgLGQ4omCcXYwAR/w300-h400/Valle%20Crucis%20pathway%208.22.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div style="font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;">Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.</div><div style="font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;"> (Proverbs 3:5-6)</div><div style="font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeecC4kOtSu1H8rg2lDRcNOLWT2Dqii1XCHgpwOFUqOwgIAWXD7EAdyeMCs4UziCUSuBto_6Sy7L88pb92cGliqICjWZDMd3cYyP_tkQx_OqZIOj0XumKI7VoXqkXLUMYGeMBoZDdkJj1LBYbnsFPuEaSlGmRwln6EKyRxlMw2QPYsZm4HLTwMzzuf/s5333/Valle%20Crucis%20fawn%208.22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="5333" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeecC4kOtSu1H8rg2lDRcNOLWT2Dqii1XCHgpwOFUqOwgIAWXD7EAdyeMCs4UziCUSuBto_6Sy7L88pb92cGliqICjWZDMd3cYyP_tkQx_OqZIOj0XumKI7VoXqkXLUMYGeMBoZDdkJj1LBYbnsFPuEaSlGmRwln6EKyRxlMw2QPYsZm4HLTwMzzuf/w400-h225/Valle%20Crucis%20fawn%208.22.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;">It is God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless. He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights. (Psalm 18:32-33)</div><div style="font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3inaJuoonXbdzXIrZ7iiHlMAmfPf7cJzP8k_BGLe7kRuiG02A4t32F3COZc122Ix6rg0r2nZ5CyzQDVdLtW3hwlzW6zCFxrPgCqcO8J8EibvbH62h-2HLV5u-NZtJSXRoTJT09bRj_t2gKu6z64IihoLJ9nGKbwfIrtXW4zElcFZYg82wqSvHWNjG/s4032/Valle%20Crucis%20birdhouse%208.22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3inaJuoonXbdzXIrZ7iiHlMAmfPf7cJzP8k_BGLe7kRuiG02A4t32F3COZc122Ix6rg0r2nZ5CyzQDVdLtW3hwlzW6zCFxrPgCqcO8J8EibvbH62h-2HLV5u-NZtJSXRoTJT09bRj_t2gKu6z64IihoLJ9nGKbwfIrtXW4zElcFZYg82wqSvHWNjG/w300-h400/Valle%20Crucis%20birdhouse%208.22.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p class="line" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 2.4rem; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-width: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also." (John 14:1-3)</span></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO5hOsdL9eP8iaH9sC85gkghhiq3nknrcp724tYo6IstXpHPkPB1h2NToKj40XIUXWWXf44HRtk67jLIg7NEuy6ttGXGDWRyNTPa1wwXHavBjcL23zcDcdKbR_zexpH0MP_3wE8XXskwgYpSl78CVqJ_r-Lpu5OfflvhklJOrEhkpZQl5YX-XbWr9S/s4774/star%20filled%20sky%20and%20mtns%208.2022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4774" data-original-width="4016" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO5hOsdL9eP8iaH9sC85gkghhiq3nknrcp724tYo6IstXpHPkPB1h2NToKj40XIUXWWXf44HRtk67jLIg7NEuy6ttGXGDWRyNTPa1wwXHavBjcL23zcDcdKbR_zexpH0MP_3wE8XXskwgYpSl78CVqJ_r-Lpu5OfflvhklJOrEhkpZQl5YX-XbWr9S/w336-h400/star%20filled%20sky%20and%20mtns%208.2022.jpg" width="336" /></a></div>Photo credit -- Casey Horner</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><div class="passage-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7em; margin-top: 50px; min-width: 0px; text-align: start;"><div class="passage-content passage-class-0" style="box-sizing: border-box; min-width: 0px;"><div class="version-NIV result-text-style-normal text-html" style="box-sizing: border-box; min-width: 0px;"><div class="std-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; min-width: 0px;"><div class="poetry top-05" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; margin-top: 1em; min-width: 0px; padding-left: 2.6em; position: relative;"><p class="line" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 2.4rem; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-width: 0px;"><span class="text Isa-40-26" id="en-NIV-18447" style="position: relative;"><i><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:</span></b></i></span><i><b><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Isa-40-26" style="position: relative;">Who created all these?</span></span><br /><span class="text Isa-40-26" style="position: relative;">He who brings out the starry host one by one</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Isa-40-26" style="position: relative;">and calls forth each of them by name.</span></span><br /><span class="text Isa-40-26" style="position: relative;">Because of his great power and mighty strength,</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Isa-40-26" style="position: relative;">not one of them is missing. (Isaiah 40:26)</span></span></span></b></i></p></div></div></div></div></div></div><span style="background-color: white;"><b><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for the moments in which you take us to the mountaintop and usher us into a closeness with you. Help me to cherish these things in my heart so my soul will always be assured of your great love for me. I praise you for the hope you have given me in the gift of my salvation. No matter what my earthly days may bring, I know my eternal home and reward is safe with you. Enable me to be a Spirit-fed spring of life flowing out to others who desperately need to know you. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>What about you? Has God given you any recent mountaintop experiences? If so, how do they sustain you in everyday life? What scriptural truth do YOU cling to that gives you hope in our world today? Will you share...</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div style="font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiH9J9z_mMIzd5ohwGHsh6nOq-FRn_0dRpq9oZEZXF9nxUZQU5JlU-bIJ9mg9fLmy34B4Ot3P2V6jjtLqkKC6h9-jcFz6Pz_0J0agwxI9VclV1fei-bgAV_ac4nzbtbWshgrD8PVXwHu30MsVIwZzFK0o6fbe-4wXBVc-zOcNjHjto2ft1UNc8MgeGY" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; font-family: verdana; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="250" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiH9J9z_mMIzd5ohwGHsh6nOq-FRn_0dRpq9oZEZXF9nxUZQU5JlU-bIJ9mg9fLmy34B4Ot3P2V6jjtLqkKC6h9-jcFz6Pz_0J0agwxI9VclV1fei-bgAV_ac4nzbtbWshgrD8PVXwHu30MsVIwZzFK0o6fbe-4wXBVc-zOcNjHjto2ft1UNc8MgeGY" width="320" /></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>ps. </b>If you've enjoyed what you've read here today, might you want to SUBSCRIBE to my blog (and nothing else)?? Just enter your contact info in the Subscribe box above. <b>Be sure to look for an email which will give you a confirmation link you need to click on -- may be in your spam file. </b>Thanks for reading.</span></div>Bev Rihtarchik - Walking Well With Godhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18225613427007199391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443269509543825661.post-26748675094141393192022-07-15T10:44:00.000-07:002022-07-15T10:44:05.221-07:00When We Don't Like God's Answers (Book Excerpt Series Part 2)<span style="font-family: verdana;">Hey Friend,</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Last week, I started posting excerpts from my book proposal entitled, <i>How Long, Oh Lord? </i>The chapter I've started with is <i>When We Don't Like God's Answers (to our prayers). </i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">This week, I'm continuing with two more segments from this chapter -- </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">~ Learning to Pray Deathless Prayers &</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">~ Focus on What You <i style="font-weight: bold;">Do </i>Know to be True</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">My prayer is that my personal experiences may help you or someone you know who is experiencing pain and suffering and doesn't like what God seems to be saying.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>When We Don't Like God's Answers</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRFeumkMdxKOTa5YQhsyxRN2aUctC6jHESHKDZ0igAAWNgf2AFT8bgirEajsWu25JpkG2MLWJUr_lxK3QaPQK76cmvqoMtd5D7Nogo4umEmyBZmqF6ItYvJKoiWRrZPV2wX6GtVj19TOgmU3FCzrbqm1lFNS-UDYdjcdVI2Sp5mpZml0mjp4fjFZrW/s3013/praying%20hands%20folded%20child.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3013" data-original-width="2246" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRFeumkMdxKOTa5YQhsyxRN2aUctC6jHESHKDZ0igAAWNgf2AFT8bgirEajsWu25JpkG2MLWJUr_lxK3QaPQK76cmvqoMtd5D7Nogo4umEmyBZmqF6ItYvJKoiWRrZPV2wX6GtVj19TOgmU3FCzrbqm1lFNS-UDYdjcdVI2Sp5mpZml0mjp4fjFZrW/w299-h400/praying%20hands%20folded%20child.jpg" width="299" /></a></div><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Learning to Pray Deathless Prayers ~</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></i></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As you may have guessed
by now, Mother’s Day looms large on my calendar. Each year it approaches,
I look for any and every excuse not to go to church on Sunday. I don’t want to
stand to be recognized, nor do I want anyone handing me a carnation, smiling cheerfully,
and wishing me, "Happy Mother's Day!” That may sound awful, but I know I'm
not alone. Maybe you are nodding in agreement?!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For many, Mother's Day
is a reminder of what isn’t — women who long to be mothers and can’t, due
to infertility or miscarriage, mothers who have lost children, children who've
lost mothers, children of addicted mothers, mothers (like me) estranged from
their children — we all might take a pass on Mother’s Day.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I kn</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">ow deep in my soul that <i>everything</i>
is possible with God. Here comes the "but." But, since I've
been praying this same prayer for years now, it often feels like it falls on
deaf ears. My spirit groans with the petition for my prodigal child and my
estranged child to return to the Lord and be reconciled with me. What happens,
I wonder, to all those prayers I've prayed? Do they simply disappear over time?
Why should I continue praying when nothing seems to be happening? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Perhaps you are an
imperfect mom like me. I know I’ve made many mistakes. I could have listened
more and talked less. I should have been less a friend and more a mentor. I’ve
literally pulled my comforter over my head and begged God to save my kids from
me, and to please fill in the gaps I’ve left open with His grace. Oh, the book I
could write on “things not to do!” Still, we tire of nursing our broken hearts.
We are weary in our marrow. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I trust the Lord knows
what He’s doing, but why did He choose me to be the mother of my two children?
Judging by the current state of our relationships, I mustn’t have done a very
good job, I surmise. I’ve dangled that “why” question, before God, on many
occasions with no answer forthcoming. One day, recently, He granted me some
insight.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It was mid-morning on a
weekday when I ducked into my “prayer closet” which doubles as the “water
closet.”<i> Sound familiar?<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Bev, </span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">God impressed upon my
heart,<i>“my children, whom I gave you to raise, have not been easy, but I entrusted
them to you because I knew you’d love them with your whole heart. I also knew
that you would be persistent in praying for them. You bring them before me
morning, noon, and night — day after day.” </i>Who knew my bathroom would serve
as my Mt. Sinai? Maybe, the measure of a mother’s love is not in how well relationships
turn out, but in how long she’ll persevere when things don’t pan out so well?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When my children were
young, like Mary, I treasured these things in my heart. My desire, more than
anything, was that my kids would have an intimate relationship with their
heavenly Father. I want that for them, even more than I want them to have a
relationship with me. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"The Lord is the
everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired
or weary." (Isaiah 40:28 NIV)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Hebrews 11 is a Who’s
Who of Biblical Heroes who looked forward, with faith, to what God had promised
them. Sadly, they did not receive all the promises while they were living, but
they welcomed them, in faith, from a distance — some from beyond the grave. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“All these people were
still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised;
they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance…”(Hebrews 11:13 NIV)</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-color-alt: windowtext; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Did you know that God’s
amazing strength is able to pursue our loved ones long after our earthly lives
are no more? Yes, hurting soul, it’s true. My prayers are being
perpetuated. Your prayers are being perpetuated. Because of God’s faithfulness,
the prayers we’ve placed before our Father's throne will still be there,
waiting to be answered in His perfect will and His perfect way.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Do you remember Hannah
in the Old Testament? She prayed repeatedly for a son, and when Samuel was
finally born to her, she then prayed he would serve God all his life (1 Samuel
1:28). God answered that prayer, and Samuel became one of the greatest men of
the Old Testament. Though Hannah had long since passed, God proved faithful in
answering her prayer.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">E.M. Bounds, a minister
and chaplain during the Civil War had this to say about prayer:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"God shapes the
world by prayer. <u>Prayers are deathless</u>.<b> </b>The lips that utter
them may be closed in death, the heart that felt them may have ceased to beat,
but the prayers live before God, and God's heart is set on them. Prayers
outlive the lives of those that uttered them; outlive a generation, outlive an
age, outlive a world." *1<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Because God holds our
prayers in His heart, He can even add years to them that exceed our lives on
earth. His, is an everlasting love that never fails. I want so much to see my
children come back to God, even if it takes longer than my lifetime. I have to
continue living by faith.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As much as I treasure my
children, God treasures them more. Their worth to God is incalculable, and so I
bring them before His throne once again. You can bring all your pain before God
who loves you. Let’s commit, together, to being annoyingly persistent. Because
we are children of God, our prayers will definitely be answered! Some may
be answered during our lifetime on earth, but certainly during our lifetime in
heaven.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-color-alt: windowtext; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This gives us hope when
the thought of being separated from a loved one for all eternity is more than
we can bear. What “deathless” prayers are you praying? Will you jot them
in the margin and pause to offer them into God’s eternal hands. If/when those
prayers come to mind again, write them in a journal and beside them write the
words, “covered eternally.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGH7bd_k6nXpZ7WOI3bscnkMCDJnV5sTokib4J85XDrOe396_iT_9ofxer_CITFeDW6XT3KPJpe_6W6_oYwJOTONZIJ44K6CK5xAgJ85MAXgzJkrRfYmFS3-5jMxvnGZPEDOKeUJcoaBvmDS8eqpnwEi_FjdFUvjn58F23ccGPFpe0qCJIn0E9fFRB/s6000/focus%20lens.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6000" data-original-width="4000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGH7bd_k6nXpZ7WOI3bscnkMCDJnV5sTokib4J85XDrOe396_iT_9ofxer_CITFeDW6XT3KPJpe_6W6_oYwJOTONZIJ44K6CK5xAgJ85MAXgzJkrRfYmFS3-5jMxvnGZPEDOKeUJcoaBvmDS8eqpnwEi_FjdFUvjn58F23ccGPFpe0qCJIn0E9fFRB/w266-h400/focus%20lens.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Focus on What You <i>Do</i> Know to Be True ~ <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In my conversations with my friend after her
daughter’s passing, I longed to know how she persevered. I wanted to know why
anger hadn’t triumphed. I could only imagine how I’d be coping. You’d most
likely find me, curled in a fetal position, in the corner. My friend maintained
an amazing maturity of trust, rather than succumbing to bitterness. Yes, she
had many nightmarish moments, but grudges against God fell from her heart’s
hands like hot potatoes. I wondered if I could handle such pain with the same
measure of grace?? I listened, amazed, as my heartbroken friend, reminded
me that “God is love…He can be counted on and trusted.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We all, like my friend, will go through stages of grief when
suffering manifests in the loss of a loved one or when a painful trial
(illness) persists.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Denial and anger refuse to consider it pure joy whenever we
face trials of many kinds (James 1:2). Wouldn’t you do just about anything to
avoid the discomfort of sitting with the loss that overwhelms you? I know I
have. It’s normal to seek to distract yourself from the pain or perhaps numb
the pain away. I’m not a drinker, but I’ve tried to drown my sorrows in sugar —
ice cream is my carb of choice. I’ve also succumbed to online spending benders.
Stuff can’t soothe our suffering.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We fall prey to blaming ourselves, or we point the finger of
blame at someone else. Then false guilt snatches us up in its camouflaged snare
because the enemy is looking to kick us when we’re down. He prowls about
seeking to destroy us with lies, false guilt, and shame. “The Creep” (as I call
him) wants to render us useless, ineffective, and morally defeated. Sadly, our
trials are the primary way through which the enemy seeks to lock us in his
crosshairs and shoot us down.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And yet, our trials are the greatest tool through which God
brushes on layer upon layer of our character.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Oh, how we want to rush the trials toward a comfortable
conclusion. But sometimes God calls us to sit, albeit uncomfortably, in our
pain — and here’s why:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Between God’s “promise” and the “payoff,” there’s a
“process.” Grief and suffering are a huge part of that “process.” We can’t
hurry it along. We can only trust God has a greater purpose for it — and that
purpose is for our good.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“And we know that in all things God works for the good of
those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans
8:28 NIV)</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lean in closely and let me whisper truth to you.
When you don’t know why God allowed this horrendous grief, as my friend would
say, “You realize what you don’t know or understand, so remind yourself of what
you <i>do</i><b> </b>know.” Bind what you know to be true about God to the
anchor of your soul. God doesn’t expect us to remain clueless in our grief. He
invites us to come to Him with our questions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> “<i>If any of you lacks wisdom, you should
ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be
given to you.” (James 1:5 NIV)<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I made, and keep handy, an “Emergency Kit” of
scriptures that remind me of who God is and who He says that I am. I’ve written
down key verses which speak truth to me on colorful 3x5 index cards. I punched holes
in the corners and joined them together with a carabiner. I even laminated the
cards because it’s my emergency reference to Scripture that soothes my soul. Consider
creating one for meditation and memorization. It’s simple to look up verses by
topic on www.biblegateway.com or </span><a href="http://www.biblehub.com/"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">www.biblehub.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. <span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Remember, you my friend, can go to God with
anything. Don’t avoid God for fear the anger will drive a wedge between you. Instead,
lean into Him. Go to Him, no, flee to Him, and crawl up into your Abba-Daddy’s
lap. Let Him comfort you and then just ask. Ask for wisdom. God may not provide
an immediate answer, but He always provides Himself. He will bless you in the
waiting and in the asking. You will receive grace and mercy in your troubles. Let
this balm of Scripture wash over you:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though
outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For
our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far
outweighs them all.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-17 NIV)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I can hear your skeptical voice saying, “Now
wait just a minute, Bev. You mean to tell me that I’m supposed to count
something as tragic as losing my loved one as ‘light and momentary.’ I can’t do
that!” The only way this can happen is to ask our souls to make a humanly
impossible, seismic leap to view our trials through the lens of eternity. This
leap will require the enabling strength of Jesus and will need to be broken
into small steps over time.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Our trials — now try to grasp this with your
mind if your heart can’t go there yet — our trials will add to the joy we experience
when we see Jesus face to face. Worthy is the Lamb. Your trials, though
heartbreaking here on earth, will be redeemed with sheer joy when your eyes
lock with those of your Savior. Your tears will vanish like a bad dream when
your heart awakens to the presence of Jesus. God will not let your suffering be
in vain. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Remember the “Stages of Suffering” outlined in
Chapter 3, <i>Wrestling With God?</i> Now might be a good time to go back and
ascertain where you are in the progression. Don’t worry if you can’t look yet
through God’s eternal lens — it will come.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The uncomfortable mercies of God (trials, pain,
suffering) are meant to draw you into a relationship and dependence upon Him
when you get to the end of yourself. Your relationship with God can, and will,
be enough; it’s sustaining. Experiencing His love is the only thing that will
allow you to embrace and carry your pain. Being one with God is the only
reality that will get you through. God allows what He hates in order to draw
the one He furiously loves (You) unto Himself!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It’s a tough question to ask, but in our grief,
can we ask ourselves, <i>what could God be achieving through this? </i>Perhaps
the purpose of suffering is to shift our focus to the sole reason God created
us <b>— </b><i>to be in a loving, intimate relationship with our Him.</i> All
other relationships are an extension of this most sacred relationship. For this
reason, Jesus refers to Himself as the Bridegroom and us (the believing church)
as His beloved Bride! When the groom and his bride are joined together, a
forever bond is formed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In my own life, I’ve gone through seasons in
which all earthly relationships were wiped off the table (husband, father,
children, friends) and I was left with the only relationship that I could truly
rely and depend upon. Suffering was the catalyst that forever defined my
relationship with God. Everything is part of God’s equation and His equation is
always for our good and His glory. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In C.S. Lewis’ <i>Narnia </i>series book, <i>The
Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe</i>, the children ask Mr. and Mrs. Beaver if
Aslan (the king and god of <i>Narnia, </i>who<i> </i>represents Christ) is safe.
Mr. Beaver responds, “’Course he isn’t safe. But <i>he’s good</i>. He’s the
King I tell you.’”<i> *2<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Having confidence in God’s goodness is one of
the linchpins of faith. When it is absent, our trust falters, our faith melts
away like an ice cream cone on a summer’s day, and hope flickers like the wick
at the end of a candle.”*3 – Pam Ecrement, blogger<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">God allows things to happen for a reason. Whether
or not we understand His reasons, we must </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">remember that God is good, just, loving, and
merciful. Suffering, certainly, will test our trust in this truth. All of life
is a journey in replacing the world’s lies with God’s truth. Let’s start now. Try
on this truth. Declare the Lord’s goodness and begin casting out those lies:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing
praise to his name for that is pleasant.” (Psalm 135:3 NIV)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bad things are bound to happen to us that we
simply cannot understand. Instead of doubting God’s goodness, our reaction (for
our own sake) needs to be one of trusting. When we get to the dead-end of our
own understanding, we are forced to yield, to trust in God, enabled by His mercy
and grace. These verses invite us to trust in God and in His character. Claim
them when the lies come calling:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and <u>lean
not on your own understanding; </u>in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He
will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5–6 NKJ, emphasis mine)</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and
gracious, Slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth.” (Psalm 86:15
NAS)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So, what <i>do</i> you know to be true about
God’s character? Think about those qualities and perhaps offer a breath
prayer, thanking Him for His lovingkindness toward you.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">If you'd like to continue reading along in my book proposal, please SUBSCRIBE to my blog (and nothing else -- I promise). I welcome your thoughts in the comments.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Be blessed...and thanks for reading...</i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i></i></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg2K05tYyKV1lMb7Pq3f_CbKZpGU-B7IlkrwidfRvvUvEmRNkxub-RuekxcaSq4Fsg2LbY-P3bIbA_KseQ5-GsYg1HG5waOwhEC1wbusFXNyf72IQ9l7GtDcpdBivLf_nOR3zKTkZuz-P86b48HiO1flG7GE2dYmGFE-g3TW82gJyM6jLTeqvzkLQWa" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="250" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg2K05tYyKV1lMb7Pq3f_CbKZpGU-B7IlkrwidfRvvUvEmRNkxub-RuekxcaSq4Fsg2LbY-P3bIbA_KseQ5-GsYg1HG5waOwhEC1wbusFXNyf72IQ9l7GtDcpdBivLf_nOR3zKTkZuz-P86b48HiO1flG7GE2dYmGFE-g3TW82gJyM6jLTeqvzkLQWa" width="320" /></a></i></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /><br /></i></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div>Bev Rihtarchik - Walking Well With Godhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18225613427007199391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443269509543825661.post-21624140935679793932022-07-08T10:00:00.000-07:002022-07-08T10:00:08.042-07:00When We Don't Like God's Answers (Book Excerpt Series, Part 1)<span style="font-family: verdana;">Hey Friend,</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">In 2020, I was one of one hundred writers chosen out of one thousand applicants to participate in the Proverbs 31 Ministries/Compel Book Proposal Boot Camp. Only a few participants' book proposals made their way to book sellers' bookshelves -- mine wasn't one of them, but I still believe in the message God gave me to share.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I don't want to let my three months of hard work go to waste, and I sincerely desire to provide hope to others caught in the seemingly hopeless snare of pain and suffering. So, I've decided to publish excerpts from my book proposal, here on my blog. The proposed title of my book was/is: <i>How Long, Oh Lord? </i>Does your soul ever beg this question?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">What you'll find below is an excerpt from the chapter: <i>When We Don't Like God's Answers. </i>I invite you to tune in for future excerpts, but if you'd like to jump ahead and read more, email me (bevritter413@gmail.com) and I'll be happy to send you a book overview and three sample chapters from my book proposal.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTDHr0xcDpqdpDeBnr3RUabhE6QMCBNYqOlmtuaYasjq0DBM27lTPjZvo2HdHSq4zYKhSS3LR9xs9262gHWmp3iNtf3I90MfxuBH4fkpn6LQRvCLxfmSfh2douXJ-l2ZeRDbudxE-ZlYOoiF9G2ur6RJhVgYpsSU9oH-f-RumhfV-Tp5o0m973-XHm/s4862/praying%20man%20head%20in%20hands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3241" data-original-width="4862" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTDHr0xcDpqdpDeBnr3RUabhE6QMCBNYqOlmtuaYasjq0DBM27lTPjZvo2HdHSq4zYKhSS3LR9xs9262gHWmp3iNtf3I90MfxuBH4fkpn6LQRvCLxfmSfh2douXJ-l2ZeRDbudxE-ZlYOoiF9G2ur6RJhVgYpsSU9oH-f-RumhfV-Tp5o0m973-XHm/w400-h266/praying%20man%20head%20in%20hands.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>When We Don't Like God's Answers </b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I found it odd that my dear friend would be
calling right at dinner time. <i>I better pick this up, </i>my gut told me, <i>it
might be urgent. </i>“Bev…(silence)…we’ve lost her,” my friend managed to choke
out the words in between fragile sobs.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I couldn’t process what I was hearing. For over
ten years, we’d come together to pray for our prodigals — her daughter, my son.
Images of her beautiful pixie of a child swirled in my mind. She was like my
second daughter — both her girls were. Giggling girls skipping rope flashed on
my memory’s home-movie screen. Elaborate plays with homespun costumes entered,
stage-left, into my mind’s eye. These three musketeers, founding members of the
Official Rodent Club, gleefully practiced clogging routines on planks of
plywood in the garage, and galloped through sprinklers in the sweltering
southern summers. I could see her impish grin as she licked her favorite
blue-raspberry popsicle, flitting to-and-fro in my family’s back yard.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Her friend discovered her body in her
apartment,” my friend went on, “after she hadn’t heard from her for a couple of
days…. It was a drug overdose.” My heart plummeted to my stomach and I fought
the urge to vomit. This couldn’t be happening — we’d prayed earnest,
down-on-bended-knee prayers for years and we’d talked about what a testimony it
would be when our prodigals turned their hearts away from substitutes, back to
the Lord, and wandered down the dusty path of repentance, back home again. This
was NOT the answer we’d prayed for!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My mind immediately catapulted to my son. If my
friend’s prayers had been answered in this horrendous way, I had to face the
unthinkable fact that my son may not find his way back home either. <i>How
could you answer this way? </i>I shrieked at God! We had prayed, prefacing
our prayers with “If it is your will, God….” How on earth could <i>this</i> be
His will? In that moment I was jolted to the sober realization that just
because we pray doesn’t mean we get our way. The purpose of prayer is not to
persuade God to follow our plan; it’s meant to usher us into the sacred inner
sanctum of our Heavenly Father’s presence. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It’s okay if you want to slam this book shut
right here and now…I would’ve too! I know it may not be what you want to
hear just yet, and that’s okay. I couldn’t give these precepts (the ones I want
to walk you through) credence in the crucible of pain, either…it took time…lots
of time. Will you hang in there with me and walk with me?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesus, in His grief, before His gruesome
crucifixion, approached His loving Father with this prayer:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw,
and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup
from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” (Luke 22:41–42
ESV)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Dear one, God’s will for your prayer is meant to
draw you close in His loving embrace. He is right there with you in the
deepest, darkest midnight of your grief. Weep <i>with Him</i> and He will carry
the bone-crushing yoke of the awful burden you cannot bear alone. I’ve
lost count of the myriad of times I’ve gone to God, eyes red and swollen, and
ribs tender from emptying my agony before Him. God longs for you to surrender
the outcome of every prayer you utter to His capable and all-knowing
sovereignty. There are no points awarded for stoicism. Love (God’s very
essence) will guide you <i>through </i>the valley one step, one day, one prayer
at a time, into His loving arms. You can count on that. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Together, let’s grapple with two hard-to-accept
guiding faith principles we can’t ignore. They are:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The power of sin is prevalent. We
live in a fallen world tainted by sin.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">God gives everyone (including
our loved ones) free will. If our prayers moved others like puppets in
God’s hands, then that would deny the very first gift God gave Adam and
Eve.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">God answers prayers and God is still in the
business of performing miracles, but sin in the form of rebellion, sickness,
disease, pride, and even death is all part of this earthly existence. God
answers prayers in so many unexpected ways, but the existence of sin has
repercussions and consequences.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You and I can ask God to turn His heart to our
loved ones, which He will willingly do, and He will show mercy to them. But,
when we ask our loved ones to turn to the Lord, it is an act <i>they</i> must
choose to perform. They must exert their own free will for change to happen. God
continually woos His beloved children, but our prayers can’t force them to
accept His love and grace. Nor can they force obedience. Those we pray for, must
act on their own free will — the free will their loving Creator gave them. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Our prayers for our children hadn’t been
answered in the way we thought they should be. My adult son is still adrift,
following sin’s siren call. So, why keep on praying? Where’s the hope in
praying? Do our prayers matter? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I invite you to join me, next week, for the next excerpt entitled: <i>Learning to Pray Deathless Prayers. </i>If you'd like to be sure to receive future excerpts in this series then SUBSCRIBE to my blog (and nothing else). Thanks for reading...</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Be blessed...</i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhslzTBf8hlVjF_7r7mhr7xWpqDef5YzrFPGnnDNn_vV6MINZWWllQf6jjI4x6B4pqvfi2CSNRctB8avd-1uEs3b_MCr44P37Sndp6VHSV1XQ8atkVr_-FofwvN4xZwMomeN2TYao20to4Aq2FNGNgS9YUM_tipwsbvV9Q5tVzZ5L6iPqzmwclG33YF" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="250" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhslzTBf8hlVjF_7r7mhr7xWpqDef5YzrFPGnnDNn_vV6MINZWWllQf6jjI4x6B4pqvfi2CSNRctB8avd-1uEs3b_MCr44P37Sndp6VHSV1XQ8atkVr_-FofwvN4xZwMomeN2TYao20to4Aq2FNGNgS9YUM_tipwsbvV9Q5tVzZ5L6iPqzmwclG33YF" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div>Bev Rihtarchik - Walking Well With Godhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18225613427007199391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443269509543825661.post-67298159821854362772022-05-10T07:32:00.002-07:002022-05-18T04:29:45.335-07:00Call Me Crazy<span style="font-family: verdana;">Hey Friend,</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">During the days of Lent, I put this sign, which read, "Thank you Jesus" in my front yard. Many others had expressed their political and philosophical opinions with a myriad of other signs, so I wanted to express my thankfulness to the One who makes my salvation possible.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiCcwLUjvLTFzfACE0IlbYbu90MHUsGdNSHTwFX283bw0lktDQhp_kjEWdOncCw19f3jEaGz3ubrL0T6Jp5uJs5PHkcUfD9yXNFKGapus9VShcOnGNrt5iI_4BIj3qDZZKJXqHrp5CMGQ7QzhB2rjogKlaPFfB0BhbF79y9isVKfEb_wXDvm_FB-0s/s2092/Thank%20you%20Jesus%20sign.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2092" data-original-width="2092" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiCcwLUjvLTFzfACE0IlbYbu90MHUsGdNSHTwFX283bw0lktDQhp_kjEWdOncCw19f3jEaGz3ubrL0T6Jp5uJs5PHkcUfD9yXNFKGapus9VShcOnGNrt5iI_4BIj3qDZZKJXqHrp5CMGQ7QzhB2rjogKlaPFfB0BhbF79y9isVKfEb_wXDvm_FB-0s/w400-h400/Thank%20you%20Jesus%20sign.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Sure, some of my neighbors probably think I'm that "Jesus freak" or I'm some sort of "Bible-beater." I'm okay with that. I'm used to being a salmon swimming upstream.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">When one of my youthful neighbors got off his bike to ask me what I was thankful for...well that gave me the opportunity to share what this life is all about -- knowing and accepting the Gospel message of grace for ourselves, and then sharing it with others. This simple sign gave me the opportunity to share the Gospel message -- life everlasting. A seed was planted.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Others now are calling me "hater," "extremist," "terrorist," "what's wrong with our world," and even "downright crazy." Go ahead, call me, "Crazy."</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Call me crazy because I believe the truth of Genesis 1:27: <i>"So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them, and He blessed them and named them..."</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Mark 10:6:<i> "But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female..." </i>He goes on to detail that a man should leave his father and mother and cling to his wife -- the God-ordained formula for marriage.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzKEHrDe6kYuhpfDwkbrffUgFd4oazFp-5heOtMtStXm-foiaVbni0ZQ7IAsiw1kZVFqhlNDxcovTGFWQNm0pR7BOjjHF2IndKRQN8qmoy049xReIEQh-uq8ho2p3k9E7Dgk54NJNSylXnqcNKxQ6z8Ez4ZKKxhkT9cw_PzhId34rs_4QK6gH1roXr/s3554/couple.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3554" data-original-width="3456" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzKEHrDe6kYuhpfDwkbrffUgFd4oazFp-5heOtMtStXm-foiaVbni0ZQ7IAsiw1kZVFqhlNDxcovTGFWQNm0pR7BOjjHF2IndKRQN8qmoy049xReIEQh-uq8ho2p3k9E7Dgk54NJNSylXnqcNKxQ6z8Ez4ZKKxhkT9cw_PzhId34rs_4QK6gH1roXr/w389-h400/couple.jpg" width="389" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Call me crazy because I believe that the unborn are children of God and that murder is a sin. You can spin it however you want, to rationalize it in order to suit your selfish desires, but the fact remains -- sin is sin.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">You get the idea...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I'm not, however, called to hate those who think differently than I do. I am called to love my neighbor as I love myself (John 13:34), but it doesn't mean I need to love or condone their actions or behavior. Big difference.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I've become fond of a new song recently released by Casting Crowns called "Crazy People." I think it fits our world today so well:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Who builds a boat with no clouds in sight?</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Who walks up to a giant and picks a fight?</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Who turns a lion's den into a petting zoo?</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Who can have a church in the fire of a furnace? I'll tell you:</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>(Refrain)</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Crazy people trust in Jesus,</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Following Him wherever He leads us.</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Kingdom seekers, walk by faith -- Believers</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Here's the Church, here's the steeple; here's to all God's crazy people.</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Who brings a Bible into a public school?</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Who shares the Gospel, even when the world calls them a fool?</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>And who's not afraid to go against the flow?</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Will cancel me and call me, "One of those" -- cause I'm one of those...</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>(Refrain)</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Who sees the world as a mission field?</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Who talks to Jesus like He's real?</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Who believes the words in red?</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Who says He's coming back again?</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>(Refrain)</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Some folks have asked me if I'm distraught over what's going on in our wacky world these days. I'm more saddened than distraught. I hurt for the lost who are buying into the worldly lies. But, everything that is happening has been precisely prophecied in the Bible. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7WWcBrQLNUE3mMv61rqgXirM4fq9nVCuNWhHRwN7sbApmeReliA8mS9iiUwYp-lsBuuvWzg0VNvbPSG8o-71136qOYJdZ97FNa9YTzUsPoWpcVaUeu4ecWv3VJOyN40EfspWP564t7eeiyCwbhJmEANa5smFBdpfzESsz62Mjrq9HMRKR7lROU1nM/s2994/hate%20me%20if%20it%20helps.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2994" data-original-width="2844" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7WWcBrQLNUE3mMv61rqgXirM4fq9nVCuNWhHRwN7sbApmeReliA8mS9iiUwYp-lsBuuvWzg0VNvbPSG8o-71136qOYJdZ97FNa9YTzUsPoWpcVaUeu4ecWv3VJOyN40EfspWP564t7eeiyCwbhJmEANa5smFBdpfzESsz62Mjrq9HMRKR7lROU1nM/w380-h400/hate%20me%20if%20it%20helps.jpg" width="380" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Jesus said, </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." (John 15:18-19)</i></b></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The world hates Christians and what we stand for. Following Jesus means you will face persecution, but behold, there is great hope. The Bible foretold everything that is now happening so Luke 21:28 fills me with great anticipation...</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>"When all these things (lawlessness, perversion, disease, pestilence, hatred, famine, earthquakes, wars and rumors of wars, a falling away from faith, etc.) happen, then look up for His coming is near."</i></b></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">His coming is near. We don't know the day or the hour -- all the more reason for us to be sharing the hope that is within us. One day (and I believe soon) the door will close and those who have not repented and believed in Jesus as their Savior will be left to face the Tribulation. </span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></i></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Come on -- the world desperately needs us "Crazy People!"</i></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></i></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i><i>W</i><i>hat about you? Do you feel like you are going against the flow...crazy even? Do you feel a sense of urgency to share your faith, or if you aren't a believer, to trust in Jesus because this world doesn't hold the answers? What does it mean to be <b>in </b>the world, but not <b>of </b>the world? Will you share?</i></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Be blessed...</i></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhS488fye-E2utL7b-5VvRqOVXNV1ZLpdW2ET3gonEbdyj9xSJ7mWf-o8FFmWIrG7uizKWtDd_pl5W249P3Y9IATUKgnwRdRlGab4IzMLfHpCS_OT7IqxvDTQbafdMI9PWzDIDRU8Gz4AqwUFGD5BEO_IsfrXUTl0haLRAXLR4wx6fnG-B9KRiB619n" style="clear: left; display: inline; font-family: verdana; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="250" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhS488fye-E2utL7b-5VvRqOVXNV1ZLpdW2ET3gonEbdyj9xSJ7mWf-o8FFmWIrG7uizKWtDd_pl5W249P3Y9IATUKgnwRdRlGab4IzMLfHpCS_OT7IqxvDTQbafdMI9PWzDIDRU8Gz4AqwUFGD5BEO_IsfrXUTl0haLRAXLR4wx6fnG-B9KRiB619n" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">ps. If you've liked what you've read here today, perhaps you'd like to SUBSCRIBE to my blog (and nothing else). Fill in your contact info in the SUBSCRIBE section and <b>be sure to look for an email in your inbox which will ask you to confirm your subscription (may get caught in your filters). </b>Thanks for reading...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><br /></span></div>Bev Rihtarchik - Walking Well With Godhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18225613427007199391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443269509543825661.post-86182325464795475142022-03-27T12:42:00.000-07:002022-03-27T12:42:40.911-07:00Rapture -- Sooner or Later?<span style="font-family: verdana;">Hey Friend,</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">In speaking with some of my Bible-reading, Bible-believing friends who find hope in the Rapture of the Church, many wish it would happen soon, but they are afraid it's still way out there in the future. Others, however, when they look at the prophetic signs outlined in scripture culminating together, they don't see how the Rapture could be meant for any other generation than ours. I am among those who believe the stage has been sovereignly set, and time is of the essence if we don't want to be one of those "left behind."</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Believers and non-believers alike are being bombarded with a daily dose of doomsday fodder. COVID-19 sucked the world's population into its orbit of terror. I do find it suspiciously ironic that the World Economic Forum (a gaggle of global elitests who thrive on power and control) met together little more than a year before COVID-19 burst onto the scene, and they "played out" a hypothetical game of, "What would happen if the world was hit with a global pandemic?" Fast forward a year and, Voila! COVID-19. Coincidence? I think not. Globalists sickly playing God? Perhaps so. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvdYU3VbLhPsAK5I9xibk9qcgJKJ2d7maQoRIesbsBekJsZuQeS8-Wd8XYF8b6Kt_-Y3u7Re3kxrvQp4w7RE0016HaBX_J-9nlPeUh6E9MyVPDyxGD1YPMr1wZ2kq7yMaTPaxRYu20US3TdSVU5aRA3SZ3MkAJCWm4_LwN7lDc5eMXemIQyvrOvTsN/s3964/Covid%20mask%20girl%203.2022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3964" data-original-width="3723" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvdYU3VbLhPsAK5I9xibk9qcgJKJ2d7maQoRIesbsBekJsZuQeS8-Wd8XYF8b6Kt_-Y3u7Re3kxrvQp4w7RE0016HaBX_J-9nlPeUh6E9MyVPDyxGD1YPMr1wZ2kq7yMaTPaxRYu20US3TdSVU5aRA3SZ3MkAJCWm4_LwN7lDc5eMXemIQyvrOvTsN/w376-h400/Covid%20mask%20girl%203.2022.jpg" width="376" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Added to the pandemic, was the intent to radically change cultures and societies through the <i>wokeism </i>we've all been subjected to over these weeks, months, and years. Overall, I believe, its been an effort to move people's thinking away from the God of Heaven and toward anti-God thinking. The effort to totally corrupt mankind has been largely successful and governments of the world have become, As Romans 1:28 tells us <i>reprobate </i>at every level. Our leaders can't and won't think rationally. Every thought is only on evil, continually, it seems. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Teacher friends of mine have gone through excessive training on using the "proper pronouns." A children's hospital has posters illustrating the correct way to "tuck one's genitals" so as to appear gender neutral. Rulings are being made that say unwanted babies can be "terminated" even after they've been born alive. A supreme court justice nominee can't even define the word, "woman." </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">This is exactly the mindset of the antediluvian world of Genesis 6, the one Jesus said would be prevalent at the moment of His catastrophic intervention into the affairs of mankind. He said it would be "as if in the days of Noah." You may read this and think I'm nuts -- most thought Noah was nuts. Maybe God needs more nuts?!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzMFH6v0iOcDfBQd4g_tACwIfR_t1uk3WC7AUGq_KvtXTHuqqlZ782w37fc4diwWdltoWth8S14VdKj_Jt8xHZDxyLKHdzNX2ZPpvjlhH9ag0AAZdWJ0Ald6Vx80KTnYTL7D7XQ6fD2M-AJ2ZBifrUuaLxyW9Nta8tgc75CH7G3VtQXnt9Bw82rod3/s3154/Noahs%20ark%203.2022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="3154" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzMFH6v0iOcDfBQd4g_tACwIfR_t1uk3WC7AUGq_KvtXTHuqqlZ782w37fc4diwWdltoWth8S14VdKj_Jt8xHZDxyLKHdzNX2ZPpvjlhH9ag0AAZdWJ0Ald6Vx80KTnYTL7D7XQ6fD2M-AJ2ZBifrUuaLxyW9Nta8tgc75CH7G3VtQXnt9Bw82rod3/w400-h229/Noahs%20ark%203.2022.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">We see, now, not only the same mindset that was anti-God, but violence that fills the earth, exactly as it was described in Noah's day. Murder, theft, and senseless violence have rocketed off the charts. Wars and rumors of wars ratchet up to the point of threatening to break into World War III. Yet, our military -- instead of being primed for action is being inundated with woke-ism within the ranks. If the battle goes nuclear, I want my military educated and trained in nuclear combat vs. being sexually enlightened. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Prices at the gas pumps and in the grocery stores -- the shelves of which are growing increasingly sparse in products -- are rising exponentially. Some predict the whole world economic system is about to experience a crash of apocalyptic proportions. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Jesus words tell us that when He comes again, it will be a completely evil time --it will be a totally debauched, sexually perverted, and wicked time -- void of respect for and honor of God's commands. I think we very well are there. If not, how much lower must we, can we, stoop? But, the Lord foretold something else. And <b>it</b> is what makes me think the Rapture of believers will be sooner rather than later. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDm0-zfqbL3GfJPVW9sGkICgqR47sevHTShlezEzLJysl3GyDtQV6TEvB0rliCEh-5-W9Uv5NWkViMNuxHEZCOViopFx6c2skVQQQ1lgMZ53bEbMj_iXZpSz66_CPxx5sx8ijPhPYVNZLfTFFCHxWxE_-ECcpySy8XWsH3DeZANah0L_svCURNIBeZ/s5760/marriage%20black%20and%20white%203.2022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3840" data-original-width="5760" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDm0-zfqbL3GfJPVW9sGkICgqR47sevHTShlezEzLJysl3GyDtQV6TEvB0rliCEh-5-W9Uv5NWkViMNuxHEZCOViopFx6c2skVQQQ1lgMZ53bEbMj_iXZpSz66_CPxx5sx8ijPhPYVNZLfTFFCHxWxE_-ECcpySy8XWsH3DeZANah0L_svCURNIBeZ/w400-h266/marriage%20black%20and%20white%203.2022.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">He said people will be eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, marrying and being given in marriage -- all the things of normal activity (Luke 17:27-28). A worldwide financial collapse and buying and selling only with the "mark of the beast" will not have happened...yet.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Complete collapse is being held up by God, in the form of the Holy Spirit, Who is the great Restrainer still at work in the world. The Restrainer also lives and works in the hearts and minds of the church -- the body of believers. Once we are removed, mercifully, from this increasingly vile cesspool, all hell will break loose.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Before the Rapture, people will not be running for their lives as if being chased by Godzilla, nor will they be roaming aimlessly on an apocalyptic Hollywood set fending for their lives (that scene is still to come). No, it will look pretty much like it does right now...most looking to Government and not to God for their salvation.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The moment is indeed imminent!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">There is one and only one way to go to Jesus in this glorious event when He calls us together in the clouds (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) -- the one and only way of escaping the time of trouble such as people of the earth have never endured.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. (Romans 10:9-10)</i></span></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Repent; claim Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and seek Him with all your heart. God tarries so that none will perrish. Say His Holy Name before the sands in the hourglass run out. Do it now -- He loves you!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>What do you think? Did God give us a prophetic roadmap only for us to remain oblivious? Do you have a sense of urgency? Why or why not? Rapture sooner or later? Do share...</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Be blessed...</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgQPrGJ8ukuQXtcykYCSO5YDSJxd3BI35EKnk4DGO85LTDc__5ZOJm0odNeI59rdpNvispquZ_c1jdGHMwbi8Uhsbf9zR-qE-n1DAeA8Y_YlQFEhsxxZX68mzIjWZUjo6DC7lAiSNJoXOOBMuRvX9nwJ8CD8pGoryV0Ny1apCJrTGtlQnYfeanyFv3F" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; font-family: verdana; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="250" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgQPrGJ8ukuQXtcykYCSO5YDSJxd3BI35EKnk4DGO85LTDc__5ZOJm0odNeI59rdpNvispquZ_c1jdGHMwbi8Uhsbf9zR-qE-n1DAeA8Y_YlQFEhsxxZX68mzIjWZUjo6DC7lAiSNJoXOOBMuRvX9nwJ8CD8pGoryV0Ny1apCJrTGtlQnYfeanyFv3F" width="320" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><br /></span></div></div>Bev Rihtarchik - Walking Well With Godhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18225613427007199391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443269509543825661.post-22333585639465101562021-12-23T03:28:00.002-08:002021-12-23T09:58:54.054-08:00He Came to Shatter the Silent Night<span style="font-family: verdana;">Hey Friend,</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I randomly dipped and draped the small twinkle lights on the mantle. When I reached the three hurricanes depicting the birth of Christ, I haphazardly pressed the glowing orbs down into each frosted tube. Then, I stood back, and with amazement, I excitedly noted where one particular tiny lamp landed -- right above the head of the baby Jesus!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiDZ_wbaRlcyMt4ys1MumAsme5agenbj_L_ncBa3X98zLoJ5uUWvM-wIwRWMLW7d6EoNLlB9wv5FQJefNeTm_MHvVrBJFKnv1MsSzIWLyl-OkWAYhq6zqzbm5cvbltLLKf4xLYEtB55hhwa2pD7U04o2fwvWUorapZHb18O1Ckv7bEfy-24WbiYnzoA=s3024" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiDZ_wbaRlcyMt4ys1MumAsme5agenbj_L_ncBa3X98zLoJ5uUWvM-wIwRWMLW7d6EoNLlB9wv5FQJefNeTm_MHvVrBJFKnv1MsSzIWLyl-OkWAYhq6zqzbm5cvbltLLKf4xLYEtB55hhwa2pD7U04o2fwvWUorapZHb18O1Ckv7bEfy-24WbiYnzoA=w400-h400" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Chance? Irony? Miraculous? </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">To me there are many ironies regarding the birth of our Savior. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><b>John 1:1-3 states, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God."</b></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Does it not confound you the Word came into the world with no words. The tiny infant couldn't speak a word. The only audible sound was His cry which came to shatter the silent night. The world had heard nothing, literally, from God for 400 years and here a shrill cry was our Savior's triumphant trumpet blast as He entered into our dark world.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">How many times do I come to Jesus with no words? The only thing which bubbles up from within my broken soul are cries...no groans to which the Holy Spirit gives audible sound. Perhaps this is why Jesus hears and understands the cries of my heart so completely? He draws near when I cry.</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjTQxA1AwUcNGBNEddcgA03L1PNW5XhsINL6Sq6bhgGJvzk5aLQFYB9Trv1DcJCDWaL3928fM0JLlIsA-bne3QZcdr7VwDqrpI-mLyz9e4O0jfxVdUgOdKhQAO0GgZqLRfCQT_8bXN31GqjJyZ2eREWWKnn6b1gSGlaCwQBFioTynh9MDdMPT2RZvU7=s744" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="744" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjTQxA1AwUcNGBNEddcgA03L1PNW5XhsINL6Sq6bhgGJvzk5aLQFYB9Trv1DcJCDWaL3928fM0JLlIsA-bne3QZcdr7VwDqrpI-mLyz9e4O0jfxVdUgOdKhQAO0GgZqLRfCQT_8bXN31GqjJyZ2eREWWKnn6b1gSGlaCwQBFioTynh9MDdMPT2RZvU7=w400-h311" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">This tiny babe probably kicked his infant feet, yet he could take no steps. Little did we know, one day, we would hear The Word behind us whispering,<b style="font-style: italic;">"This is the way. Walk in it." (Isaiah 30:21). </b>How could the world have known, when it looked upon this tiny, helpless babe, He would walk on water to reach out His righteous right hand to keep us from sinking and drowning in our doubt and despair?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The angel came to Mary, and along with telling her not to be afraid, she was instructed to name the immaculate-conception-become-human, Jesus. How could we know one day all our knees would bow and He would be called the words Isaiah prophesied hundreds of years before His birth -- <b><i>"And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6)</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Infant Babe</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Wonderful Counselor</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Mighty God</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Everlasting Father</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Prince of Peace</i></span></div><div><ul style="background-color: white; font-family: Roboto, "helvetica neue", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; list-style: outside none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li class="va-top ov-h" style="margin: 0px 0px 4px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top; zoom: 1;"><br /></li></ul></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">When the light of the world was born, Mary made a bed for Him in a manger -- a feeding trough for the lowest of the animals. How ironic the One who came that none would die, made his first bed in such a lowly state. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEguUz0BrMtoGzmV_VB5TVNv-FMczZmUPVVr8alL0IpB0Meu4-uriL44CpW4SeNX4hVe_AQYIRlKunQJtULiB8fMDqC8X7zmdZot7kEj1QeqU_AvTCVmlOZjNlD4abgNrsqWKEB65dLfZvjoNhIeNUhCmvBqVAyTKvRwAaCrcaeftih8djRLEVrdXDyq=s1032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="1032" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEguUz0BrMtoGzmV_VB5TVNv-FMczZmUPVVr8alL0IpB0Meu4-uriL44CpW4SeNX4hVe_AQYIRlKunQJtULiB8fMDqC8X7zmdZot7kEj1QeqU_AvTCVmlOZjNlD4abgNrsqWKEB65dLfZvjoNhIeNUhCmvBqVAyTKvRwAaCrcaeftih8djRLEVrdXDyq=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Mary wrapped Him in swaddling cloths. Before a Jewish feast, the firstborn male lamb -- the one without blemish would be chosen to be the atoning sacrifice. In order to keep him still before his time of sacrifice, the shepherds would wrap the wriggling lamb in swaddling cloths to keep him calm until his blood would be spilled for the cleansing of mans' sins. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Jesus was the helpless lamb -- swaddled in cloths until the time would come He'd lay down His life, on the rugged timbers, to clear our pathway to heaven once and for all. </b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>God could have left us to our own sinful devices, but He gave His only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him woud not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16)</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Jesus is Immanuel -- God with us. He came to shatter the silent night. He came so we would never again have to live in darkness. </b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Do you know Him? Have you reached the end of yourself? Thank Jesus for the gift of grace He came to give you, personally. Ask Him to forgive your sins -- He will. Invite Him in to be Lord of your life. Lay down your life and pick up your cross and follow Him. Pray this now and then walk in freedom. If Jesus is already Lord of your life, invite Him in, anew, and embrace the beautiful ironies He brings to the world.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Be blessed this Christmas...we know how the story ends...take hope and be filled with joy and expectation...we're almost home...</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc9pmGvaYN77G8JiOzNPxh0j3nbIgCm4T3OgZ76J3TflfYcMXsvT4wTv3fUbQZBWy8mxb1x2So8JKJ4H-VfN7yXgCv3YMfvqXKkf_BAN6lL0HMa3huwIbBMVhvIGtpN16ljF5ujAtryT0/" style="clear: left; display: inline; font-family: verdana; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="250" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc9pmGvaYN77G8JiOzNPxh0j3nbIgCm4T3OgZ76J3TflfYcMXsvT4wTv3fUbQZBWy8mxb1x2So8JKJ4H-VfN7yXgCv3YMfvqXKkf_BAN6lL0HMa3huwIbBMVhvIGtpN16ljF5ujAtryT0/" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">ps. If you've enjoyed what you've read here today, might you want to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly blog posts (and nothing else)? If so, just go to the SUBSCRIBE box above and enter your contact information. <b>Be sure to look for the confirmation email which will come in your email inbox (check your filters). </b>Again, thanks for reading...</span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><br /></span></div>Bev Rihtarchik - Walking Well With Godhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18225613427007199391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443269509543825661.post-78231958074283453652021-12-04T04:49:00.000-08:002021-12-04T04:49:33.757-08:00Fear Shouts; Love Whispers<span style="font-family: verdana;">Hey Friend,</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I'm not quite sure what has stymied my writing? Perhaps it's the world we're living in and I feel helpless to halt the direction in which it's spinning?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I hear the enemy's lies and I have to lean in hard to hear God's still small voice. You too?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I haven't written poetry in quite some time, but these words fell upon my heart in the pre-dawn hours.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I dedicate this to all who suffer from anxiety and depression which is made worse by the confusion of the days in which we live...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjttL8VeSWtKcR60hj9TLhkwO2eU4o9I-Z3Vh-RiODhlNx8se0P2aqPmeZfuERKnV_8rBK0pbA-D9tNybF7OhStR6QCMbAJx7qwmA-ncCRgkoj467NsDoxCKuiqAQ8Cfi9KzKHol2m0yps/s2048/hands+of+fear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1367" data-original-width="2048" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjttL8VeSWtKcR60hj9TLhkwO2eU4o9I-Z3Vh-RiODhlNx8se0P2aqPmeZfuERKnV_8rBK0pbA-D9tNybF7OhStR6QCMbAJx7qwmA-ncCRgkoj467NsDoxCKuiqAQ8Cfi9KzKHol2m0yps/w400-h268/hands+of+fear.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Fear Shouts; Love Whispers</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Fear focuses on the shadows</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Faith follows the light,</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>I strongly cling to self</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>When it's Jesus who wins each fight.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Desperation defines me</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Fear robs me of my rest,</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>The shackles of anxiety bind me</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Crippling my joy and happiness.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Terrifying tendrils of doubt</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Put a stranglehold on my soul,</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Lies tear gaps wide open</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Mercy pours in and makes me whole.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Days of endless doubt</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Make my anxious heart race,</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Only trust allows me</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>To be caught up in your saving grace.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7O5EqWuKjcgOm2v0cGWpeOzumMcuZ-x3Scl6l-CTU84VF7855onKdkWvKM2JTtbYwjDrs48I5jIBjxvdXHoZVlOTOoVP6X5x0jaWkB1dI11N3frcT8z6Urshv4aMFg5uE2RFWJHetiJc/s2048/question+mark+neon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7O5EqWuKjcgOm2v0cGWpeOzumMcuZ-x3Scl6l-CTU84VF7855onKdkWvKM2JTtbYwjDrs48I5jIBjxvdXHoZVlOTOoVP6X5x0jaWkB1dI11N3frcT8z6Urshv4aMFg5uE2RFWJHetiJc/w400-h266/question+mark+neon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Confusion's caucophony rattles my brain</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>With anticipated catastrophe,</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Lord, draw near I need you</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>I crave your love which frees.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>What if waves toss and turn me</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Til I'm sinking like a stone</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>His love so gently whispers,</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>"I'll never let you go!"</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Yet Love's raging wildfire</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Blazes paths of peace,</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>He leads me by still waters</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Only His staff comforts me.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Finally, I realize</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>I am but the tiny lamb</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Oh so gently held</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>In the arms of the great "I am."</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Fear shouts; love whispers...</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXZVzBoMPDbQyTxZki4GtmSouzpFrDY5aSEjHFMJiv_puhxJj42e7_MkN-BcreGV2GqasEsjEu_z1Bg795V0K7JqwBIuN1dDLV13a10nM1f8-eGX2QO0NxcSKwjACojL3M9m_w0czkXPE/s726/whisper+girl+to+boy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="726" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXZVzBoMPDbQyTxZki4GtmSouzpFrDY5aSEjHFMJiv_puhxJj42e7_MkN-BcreGV2GqasEsjEu_z1Bg795V0K7JqwBIuN1dDLV13a10nM1f8-eGX2QO0NxcSKwjACojL3M9m_w0czkXPE/w400-h320/whisper+girl+to+boy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Let these words from Luke 21:25-31 be your comfort:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><p class="reg" style="background-color: white; color: #001320; font-family: Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 25px;"><span class="red" style="color: #a80000;">“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.</span> <span class="reftext" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 15px; margin-left: 1px; margin-right: 2px; vertical-align: text-top;"><a href="http://biblehub.com/luke/21-26.htm" style="color: #008ae6; text-decoration-line: none;">26</a></span><span class="red" style="color: #a80000;">People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.</span> <span class="reftext" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 15px; margin-left: 1px; margin-right: 2px; vertical-align: text-top;"><a href="http://biblehub.com/luke/21-27.htm" style="color: #008ae6; text-decoration-line: none;">27</a></span><span class="red" style="color: #a80000;">At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.</span> <span class="reftext" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 15px; margin-left: 1px; margin-right: 2px; vertical-align: text-top;"><a href="http://biblehub.com/luke/21-28.htm" style="color: #008ae6; text-decoration-line: none;">28</a></span><span class="red" style="color: #a80000;">When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”</span></p><p class="reg" style="background-color: white; color: #001320; font-family: Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 25px;"><span class="reftext" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 15px; margin-left: 1px; margin-right: 2px; vertical-align: text-top;"><a href="http://biblehub.com/luke/21-29.htm" style="color: #008ae6; text-decoration-line: none;">29</a></span>He told them this parable: <span class="red" style="color: #a80000;">“Look at the fig tree and all the trees.</span> <span class="reftext" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 15px; margin-left: 1px; margin-right: 2px; vertical-align: text-top;"><a href="http://biblehub.com/luke/21-30.htm" style="color: #008ae6; text-decoration-line: none;">30</a></span><span class="red" style="color: #a80000;">When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near.</span> <span class="reftext" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 15px; margin-left: 1px; margin-right: 2px; vertical-align: text-top;"><a href="http://biblehub.com/luke/21-31.htm" style="color: #008ae6; text-decoration-line: none;">31</a></span><span class="red" style="color: #a80000;">Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.</span></p><p class="reg" style="background-color: white; color: #001320; font-family: Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 25px;"><br /></p><p class="reg" style="background-color: white; color: #001320; font-family: Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 25px;"><i>Take heart; we know how this story ends...be blessed...</i></p><p class="reg" style="background-color: white; color: #001320; font-family: Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 25px;"><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBTvcfCikcm8TQiftd8ojzdyt5xkWUQTdNAWNnGHGoavX3jlft9eavPxX48_xRb8qto-CylVzJp7RQFYdNWObRtTHWnVEpX5TRJdOGQmsFz-Z4NvSxeqOhRSL73IzPIKROL2KMO5364Bo/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="250" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBTvcfCikcm8TQiftd8ojzdyt5xkWUQTdNAWNnGHGoavX3jlft9eavPxX48_xRb8qto-CylVzJp7RQFYdNWObRtTHWnVEpX5TRJdOGQmsFz-Z4NvSxeqOhRSL73IzPIKROL2KMO5364Bo/" width="320" /></a></i></div><i><br /><br /></i><p></p><p class="reg" style="background-color: white; color: #001320; font-family: Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 25px;"><b>ps. If you've enjoyed what you've read here today, </b>might you want to subscribe to my regular posts (and nothing else)? Just go to the SUBSCRIBE box above to enter your contact info. <b>Be sure to look for a confirmation email in your inbox. </b>Thanks for reading...</p></div>Bev Rihtarchik - Walking Well With Godhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18225613427007199391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443269509543825661.post-16199650315786145462021-09-30T12:50:00.000-07:002021-09-30T12:50:59.473-07:00What is the Best Way to Share Your Faith?<span style="font-family: verdana;">Hey Friend,</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I had my steamy cup of coffee in hand and was ready to settle in for Sunday online church. No sooner had I plopped onto the sofa, turned up the worship music, and called up the stairs for Dave to come down, the doorbell rang.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Who could be ringing the doorbell at 9:30 am. on a Sunday morning?</i> Pushing pause, I scurried toward the front door. It was our neighbor, John. We'd been journeying with him and his wife, Tracy, as she battled pancreatic cancer for the past year and a half. The cancer, sadly, was winning. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">John obviously needed to talk and, I believe, there was a reason he rang <i>our</i> doorbell. John's much needed verbal-purge wound it's way around anger, past frustration, through anguish, alongside despair, until it wound up on faith's front porch. A door had opened...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Genesis 12 is known as the "blessing chapter" in the Bible. A good summation would be: <b><i>"You are blessed to be a blessing."</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAqzLfg6HWkJadBkLHDUyhs6Au39EhxLtqSJnPNpUqbkcyJrbSRIsXlwT2hha-pirO1ck-ZFRSqUF2SOuv1JIDkUXffJB2fP3F5UrduuS5unqu7pAtXSplnU_hFlrSXtdmsChhrajtxdI/s2048/Love+your+neighbor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAqzLfg6HWkJadBkLHDUyhs6Au39EhxLtqSJnPNpUqbkcyJrbSRIsXlwT2hha-pirO1ck-ZFRSqUF2SOuv1JIDkUXffJB2fP3F5UrduuS5unqu7pAtXSplnU_hFlrSXtdmsChhrajtxdI/w400-h266/Love+your+neighbor.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">So how, exactly, are we to be a blessing?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Until recently, I thought there were basically two ways to be a blessing and to share your faith with others. The first method I call <b>"In your face." </b>This is the more aggressive path of quoting scripture continuously and turning every conversation into a sermon.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The second method I call <b>"Live like Jesus." </b>This method is more passive -- I'll just go about my life, living and trying to look like Jesus, and my actions may pique someone's curiosity about my faith. This method isn't bad, per se, but it relies on someone "catching" our faith much like they'd catch a cold.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The third method I've learned is perhaps the most effective way to share our faith -- it's called <b>"Be a blessing." </b>"Blessers" are much more likely to bring others to faith than "Converters" who are out to save souls. I do, however, admire those favored with the gift of evangelism.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">When desiring to be a "blesser," perhaps the first question to ask yourself is this:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>"What would I value in someone that would make me want to discuss personal spiritual matters with them?"</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUTQ3DQLE-6oMhJ_uvLxi1in1yX1uclz0ZN8G0PrfZWKC4Xk359oWoQc5CAlZLthJ12bjNMsNpIEslP6px4A6jUjXHj8P0rhIIluoff2g99Tiwvp_fMh9fd4kc7MLnP0GOdrAxWoUTRyM/s2048/Listening+two+girls+whispering.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1361" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUTQ3DQLE-6oMhJ_uvLxi1in1yX1uclz0ZN8G0PrfZWKC4Xk359oWoQc5CAlZLthJ12bjNMsNpIEslP6px4A6jUjXHj8P0rhIIluoff2g99Tiwvp_fMh9fd4kc7MLnP0GOdrAxWoUTRyM/w400-h266/Listening+two+girls+whispering.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Would I value:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>~ Someone who listens without judgment?</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>~ Someone who lets me draw my own conclusions?</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>~ Someone with enough confidence to hear my perspective before sharing "Jesus is the Way."</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Jesus was a master at blessing others. This carpenter knew how to build relationships. Here are 5 key practices I've adopted from His playbook...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><u>5 Practices Jesus Uses to BLESS:</u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>1. B = BEGIN with prayer. </b>How many times did Jesus go off to pray during His ministry?<b> </b>I like to go on prayer walks around my neighborhood in which I pray for each house I pass and ask God who I can bless, and who needs to hear the words,"God loves you."</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>2. L = LISTEN. </b>I think of the time when Jesus asked the blind man what He could do for him. Listen to your neighbors -- they will tell you how they need to be blessed or healed.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>3. E = EATING. </b>Jesus shared lots of meals with strangers and unlikely guests. We eat three meals, seven days a week. That's twenty-one opportunities to love on others. I've found sharing a meal with people we don't know well is one of the best ways to begin building a relationship.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>4. S = SERVE. </b>If you ask, people will tell you how to serve them ie: include their child in carpool, provide a meal, or pick up a prescription. One question I've gotten much better at asking is this: <b><i>"How can I pray for you?" </i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9mGEJUkyGQHSpbm6wJmzVuaRrN-V_G6zTdp9W1T4ppT_LdpQAFIu4EWBlWI0apve-o33HOYn1hvbVZM9RO0x9ZaBlDmptgD-UveV7EgSfd_zHiX4RkzNlNWlTDGty6SXZu0DKxMjEv5A/s2048/serving+tray+charcuterie+board.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9mGEJUkyGQHSpbm6wJmzVuaRrN-V_G6zTdp9W1T4ppT_LdpQAFIu4EWBlWI0apve-o33HOYn1hvbVZM9RO0x9ZaBlDmptgD-UveV7EgSfd_zHiX4RkzNlNWlTDGty6SXZu0DKxMjEv5A/w400-h266/serving+tray+charcuterie+board.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I never used to pray before walking into a grocery store. But, one day, I prayed in my car for Jesus to guide my steps and conversation in the store I was about to enter. It didn't take Him long to answer my prayer. In the produce section, an elderly woman told me she liked my shirt which had all sorts of adorable dogs on the back.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">We discovered we'd both had Westies among other dog breeds. Other shoppers raised a few eyebrows as we doubled over laughing about dog tales and puppy escapades. I kept my lips closed and listened as she lamented over her husband's recent passing. Against COVID protocol, I asked her, <i>"May I give you a hug?"</i> -- she graciously accepted...and then I asked, <i>"How can I pray for you?"</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>My grocery store run had become more an act of giving than an act of getting. </b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>5. S = SHARE your story...</b>but only when asked. Most folks don't want to know about your achievements, they want to know they're not alone in carrying their burdens and shame. Hubris gets you nowhere, but humility is a welcome mat. By sharing "me too" stories, we can lighten the load others bear.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">As Christians, we need to be inclusive in our prayers -- in learning to listen, while sharing a table, when serving, and when sharing. Will you pray with me?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Dear Heavenly Father, I am truly blessed by you. Please enable me to go out and be a blessing to others. Let me be to someone else, what I would like them to be to me. Give me strength and courage to use the practices Jesus used to bless others. I'm asking you to bring to mind people I need to bless this week. What first step, Lord, do I need to take? Tell me. Show me. Here I am, Lord, use me. Enable me, ultimately, to share the hope that is within me. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>What about you? Is your style more "In your face," or "Live like Jesus?" Do you feel God calling you to a more active way of sharing your faith by being a blessing? </i></span><i style="font-family: verdana;">What step(s) can you take this week? Who can you bless? Will you share?</i></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>May you be blessed in your endeavors...</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-QaqYrlHAiXM0VYpL1IfcIdy3rKwylt0w5tCuZX9iiTHF6lAcfr31KSstbeCCmK9rVeNHO6yhth9aeR6-RoWrBPc5sUBRXToulJsutf_LqD6X_nG_AIhqcrWX9-u4VSlasz2XlLizNuw/" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; font-family: verdana; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="250" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-QaqYrlHAiXM0VYpL1IfcIdy3rKwylt0w5tCuZX9iiTHF6lAcfr31KSstbeCCmK9rVeNHO6yhth9aeR6-RoWrBPc5sUBRXToulJsutf_LqD6X_nG_AIhqcrWX9-u4VSlasz2XlLizNuw/" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>ps. If you've enjoyed what you've read here today, </b>perhaps you'd like to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly posts (and nothing else). Just fill in your contact information in the SUBSCRIBE box. <b>Be sure to look for the confirmation email in your inbox (check your spam filter). </b>Thanks for reading.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><br /></span></div>Bev Rihtarchik - Walking Well With Godhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18225613427007199391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443269509543825661.post-37334564310059406302021-07-23T03:09:00.000-07:002021-07-23T03:09:48.507-07:00 Child, I Don't Want You to be Left Behind<span style="font-family: verdana;">Hey Friend,</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's 3:30 am and I can't sleep...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Time transports me back a few decades to that silent night in a hospital bed. The nurse brought you in and gently laid you in my arms. Your tiny head smelled of gentle goodness and perfection. The baby I'd prayed years to hold was finally nestled in my arms. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC5FcweIEzPYPJFqZ3phETDm5ePx24iJLEPdy-E1vmu0mwaU4CNxxof05tpDbV-Ekn3d4rFvzQYDIaV_IPmQFtMqoA0I2mWQ21nmd2cbnaLhU8YojjN526-TYlJo6xySwnTeGCoEMSLxY/s1950/newborn+baby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1300" data-original-width="1950" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC5FcweIEzPYPJFqZ3phETDm5ePx24iJLEPdy-E1vmu0mwaU4CNxxof05tpDbV-Ekn3d4rFvzQYDIaV_IPmQFtMqoA0I2mWQ21nmd2cbnaLhU8YojjN526-TYlJo6xySwnTeGCoEMSLxY/w400-h266/newborn+baby.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">As you slept I made a promise. I promised God I would do my very best to raise you in His love and teach you His precepts. I solemnly dedicated you to my Savior. I asked Jesus for His arms always to be open to you until you fell into them. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">I laid you down at the foot of the cross -- you were my crown whom I cast at His holy feet.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Now, the enemy of our souls has his fist tightly clenched around the hourglass of time. He's squeezing out the sacred sand and I'm powerless to stop it. I pour out my heart -- earnestly begging Jesus to woo you back to Himself before it's too late. You know His hand is right there, but will you reach out to grab it and save yourself? I can't do it for you, this is a decision only you can make.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">But know this:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">For all your hurts, Jesus is your Healer</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">For your failures He is forever your Father who picks you up</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">For your addictions, your Adonai can break the chains</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">For your sorrows, He sends His Holy Spirit to comfort you</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">For the mistakes, He is your Maker and He makes beauty from the ashes</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">For your unattained yearnings, He is Yahweh</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">For your lowest points, He is El Elyon - your God Most High</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">For your agony, He is Abba-Daddy who holds you</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">For when you want to hide, He is El Roi - the God Who Sees You and loves you</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">For your shame, He breaks the shackles</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">For every sin that haunts you, He is Elohim - He is God who is bigger than everything and anything</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlfh4jeeH1aP9HkXRu7p7a_fgg0taEeWwq8djZRzcEL6r_bif9YG6FO4IS90aR8IfuwRfjNoczQ05jPfuFfyOgP2Fl7R7A-7nGUwI6_lfBZGWK3bjMkF2UPJnvgR-Om-rY6pWrFc_MUFY/s750/broken+pieces.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="750" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlfh4jeeH1aP9HkXRu7p7a_fgg0taEeWwq8djZRzcEL6r_bif9YG6FO4IS90aR8IfuwRfjNoczQ05jPfuFfyOgP2Fl7R7A-7nGUwI6_lfBZGWK3bjMkF2UPJnvgR-Om-rY6pWrFc_MUFY/w400-h266/broken+pieces.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>For God so loved the world that He gave us</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>His One and Only Son to save us.</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Whoever believes in Him will live forever. (John 3:16)</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Come bring your weary heart. Come to the table and find only His love will satisfy. Come bring your thirst and pant no more. Come lay your flaws and failures at the foot of the cross. Come walk in freedom because He has died for your sin and defeated death. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I praise God for the wonders of His love. I praise Him for the wonder that is you.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Jesus gave His life so you could walk in freedom. With His blood you are made whiter than snow. Your new name is Beloved. Pick up His yoke -- it's light and it won't burden you. Give Him your past and He will lavish His grace upon you and give you eternity with Him.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Fall on your knees and find it's the way to His Heart of love for you.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I love you my child. Run into His arms. I don't want you to be left behind because there is glory upon glory that awaits you. Don't delay. Get out of the boat called Self. Walk on the water toward Him. He will not let you fall. Take hold of His righteous right hand and live. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>I love you always my child...</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Be blessed...if you have a child you'd like me to pray for, by name, email me with their first name and I will pray over them.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWpkN3_18A-jALPA-DkPctcjZoUGYtMWwl63DQxFYWTEtVgrVfukIvP7kYYCDMBNT69OTW_zaZnLaPfY-kEsnZo_ojm5ANygtZsNaTw62XbVjiZtVnRx6Gkdl7ClHRRgBj4XjGgIsrle0/" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; font-family: verdana; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="250" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWpkN3_18A-jALPA-DkPctcjZoUGYtMWwl63DQxFYWTEtVgrVfukIvP7kYYCDMBNT69OTW_zaZnLaPfY-kEsnZo_ojm5ANygtZsNaTw62XbVjiZtVnRx6Gkdl7ClHRRgBj4XjGgIsrle0/" width="320" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>ps. If you liked what you've read here today - </b>might you want to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly posts (and nothing else)? Just go to the SUBSCRIBE block above and follow the prompts. <br /><br /></span></div>Bev Rihtarchik - Walking Well With Godhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18225613427007199391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443269509543825661.post-66734823185859391412021-06-25T13:55:00.000-07:002021-06-25T13:55:02.684-07:00Apathy -- the Christian Pandemic<span style="font-family: verdana;">Hey Friend,</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">First a little business -- in case you haven't noticed, my blog is no longer getting to your inbox courtesy of Feedburner. Google, which owns the Blogger platform on which I write, announced they were dropping Feedburner as a subscription service.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I had one month to come up with, and implement a "Plan B" which gave this non-tech-savvy writer a mild panic attack. After reading the pros and cons of all the services out there, I decided to go with follow.it. Please let me know, by way of a comment or email, if you are receiving my blog posts. No mail service is good if it doesn't get the mail where it needs to go...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">It occurred to me, I can't remember the last time I heard a pastor preach about the second coming of Christ. In fact, I don't think I recall an expository message based on prophetic scripture since my youth.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The late A.W. Tozer wrote about what he called "the decline of apocalyptic expectation" in the contemporary church. Mind you he lived from 1897 - 1963. I wonder what his commentary would be on our modern-day church?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1k6bNYyOWUUmD6Ss4Im5_JPY6kbarU80lsm9Y4YKTpvu3NEB22vYxzP3jMmFBrRMDDCIgxE4nx0nedBUtbF-Rl2OOeNz4yjgLU6fIHoAlZTnby-Rl4VgKlZ5owifFbwol106r8d-GpJM/s755/apocalypse+fire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="755" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1k6bNYyOWUUmD6Ss4Im5_JPY6kbarU80lsm9Y4YKTpvu3NEB22vYxzP3jMmFBrRMDDCIgxE4nx0nedBUtbF-Rl2OOeNz4yjgLU6fIHoAlZTnby-Rl4VgKlZ5owifFbwol106r8d-GpJM/w400-h265/apocalypse+fire.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Christ is coming again! I believe the church has forgotten this truth. Christians, rather than being distinct from the world around them and living in expectation of their Lord's return, have become so much like the world that sometimes you can scarcely tell the difference between the two. Many churches reflect an apathetic, rather than serious, attitude toward the coming of the Lord.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Some church-goers view talking about the end-times and Christ's coming again as a downer -- a negative subject. Who wants to hear about Armageddon and ruin a perfectly good Sunday morning?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The events surrounding the second coming of Christ do come with a stern biblical warning and judgment is a prominent theme. BUT...I believe the coming of Christ is the brightest, most radiant star on our bleak horizon.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Others plead -- please don't spend an hour teaching "end time" matters on Sunday morning to people with family struggles, business and marriage failures, and a host of other emotional and physical problems. That is SO irrelevant!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Irrelevant?</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">In his book, <i>The Book of Signs, </i>Dr. David Jeremiah says this, <i>"I can promise you with a strong degree of assurance: One minute after the Rapture, the subject won't be "irrelevant" at all. It will be the very definition of relevant."</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">If it's been awhile since you've read about Christ coming to catch away the saints to the marriage supper of the Lamb, while the earth is plunged into the Great Tribulation, take a gander at Matthew 24:36-44 and see if goosebumps don't rise up on your arms.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRixpSsdPfqUrCnhiTxOgvkod204iiRwRmSojCtB0JKYIDyYmHogPiFi3MIKo9o8DEUO-7xG7D8hXxo4OZk3IGPFk4dk3RRLmKYWwoMdjrqQuH-EOieWBgpl5HE8OnPlHkRyF2LAoFlDM/s331/goosebumps+on+arm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="174" data-original-width="331" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRixpSsdPfqUrCnhiTxOgvkod204iiRwRmSojCtB0JKYIDyYmHogPiFi3MIKo9o8DEUO-7xG7D8hXxo4OZk3IGPFk4dk3RRLmKYWwoMdjrqQuH-EOieWBgpl5HE8OnPlHkRyF2LAoFlDM/w400-h210/goosebumps+on+arm.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Q: What's the difference between ignorance and apathy?</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>A: I don't know and I don't care.</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I believe that's kind of the way many feel about the Rapture. They don't know and they don't really care.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Jesus warned about three different attitudes about His coming again. Let's call them the Three "C's":</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Cavalier Attitude: </b>Just as the days of Noah were, so also will be the days before the coming of the Son of Man. Before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Genesis 6:5 tells us that when the Lord looked down upon His creation He "saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">When you read all the horrible stuff reported in the news, do you wonder how could anyone ever think up something so evil? That's the way it was just before the Flood. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVMG-xSMYnPlN_6dSvcU13JQlE-zAVobXcRezRqG0n5EtjTVqBfS7ye6z3KSOr7H263Rxpciv57FINIFTFfBKErlFgixV2X6dDesTD6pxWmmwT_2j8Aen2S6KBnUTVUiwqCXG0olnydMw/s702/Covid+headlines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="498" data-original-width="702" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVMG-xSMYnPlN_6dSvcU13JQlE-zAVobXcRezRqG0n5EtjTVqBfS7ye6z3KSOr7H263Rxpciv57FINIFTFfBKErlFgixV2X6dDesTD6pxWmmwT_2j8Aen2S6KBnUTVUiwqCXG0olnydMw/w400-h284/Covid+headlines.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Noah preached and warned about the coming flood for one hundred twenty years. That's a long time to preach one message, but no one wanted to hear about "judgment." Quite possibly they told Noah he was <i>irrelevant </i>and <i>politically incorrect. </i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">In 2 Peter 3:3-6, Peter is saying the time immediately before Christ's return will be just as it was during Noah's day. I wonder if they wished they'd heeded Noah's warning?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Careless Attitude: </b>1 Thessalonians 5:2 reminds us, <i>"For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night." </i>Just because the Lord will come suddenly and unexpectedly, and just because we don't see this taking place right under our noses, doesn't mean we can become careless in our attitude. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Other people get robbed, develop fatal illnesses, have their marriages fail, or lose their savings. Jesus warns against a careless, reckless, self-deceptive attitude that keeps insisting, "It can't happen to me." It can and it will. One day God <i>will </i>say, "That's enough."</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Callous Attitude: </b>I believe<b> </b>many put off making a decision for the Lord because it's "not convenient." Perhaps they've got some wild oats to sow or some crazy, self-indulgent things they want to do. They think they've got it all figured out -- at the first whiff of Jesus coming again -- then they'll pull their life together. It's kind of a <i>callous procrastination. </i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">This same attitude goes for believers. One of <i style="font-weight: bold;">the </i>greatest lies Satan deludes us with is this: <i style="font-weight: bold;">There is plenty of time.</i> I know I've thought to myself, <i>I'll have that conversation with my neighbor tomorrow. I'll write my son about the hope that lies within me -- tomorrow. </i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Stubbornly, we always think there will be a tomorrow, but just as the door on the ark closed, so is the Son of Man coming at an hour we do not expect. Let's not wait until the time is convenient. Even if the world mocks you like they did Noah, let's have an attitude of radiant expectation vs. lackluster apathy.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Dear Heavenly Father, forgive me for having an "I'll get to it tomorrow" attitude when it comes to sharing with others the greatest truth of all time. Let me not be cavalier, careless, or callous when it comes to getting right with you or sharing hope with those who <i>need</i> to know even if they don't <i>want </i>to know. I thank you for your persistence in your long-suffering so that the whole world may know your abundant and saving grace. Let me be your messenger. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>What about you? What's your attitude? Are you willing to be like Noah even if the world mocks you? What holds you up? What urges you on? Will you share? Be blessed...</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHBH20YluP5gW_UlUtIGWQaw3QcbZ4Mq2yVLRGOxOFOxd7dLK0K9skAB1uK5g-eK3n9y-GpCiy50GjaAgLozr1lpwRJltDEsjvoczJp-T2YEXhOq6PUfXmz5EFdBIMSrWS7etYeqURe3U/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="250" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHBH20YluP5gW_UlUtIGWQaw3QcbZ4Mq2yVLRGOxOFOxd7dLK0K9skAB1uK5g-eK3n9y-GpCiy50GjaAgLozr1lpwRJltDEsjvoczJp-T2YEXhOq6PUfXmz5EFdBIMSrWS7etYeqURe3U/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>ps. If you've appreciated what you've read here today...</b>might you want to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly posts (and nothing else)? <b>Just head to the SUBSCRIBE block at the top of this post to complete your subscription. </b>Thanks for reading!</span></div>Bev Rihtarchik - Walking Well With Godhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18225613427007199391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443269509543825661.post-79563891075466896172021-06-06T16:01:00.000-07:002021-06-06T16:01:39.238-07:00Why We Can't Afford Not to be Bold<span style="font-family: verdana;">Hey Friend,</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div><i><b>And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.” This expression, “Yet once more,” denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. (Hebrews 12:26-27)</b></i></div><div><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div>As I look back over the past year and a half as well as the days, months, and years leading up to today, I don't think you have to be a theologian or Biblical scholar to recognize God's hand of favor is no longer resting on the once loyal shoulder of the US because He will only be our God if we will be His people. </div><div><br /></div><div>I believe we are in the "yet once more" season of God shaking the earth "so that those things which cannot be shaken remain." It's almost as if we are consciously trying to provoke God's judgment. </div><div><br /></div><div>Some of the signs of a nation heading to judgment include societal division, civil disrest, disorder, lawlessness, raising of idols, sexual immorality and perversion, violence, overturning our moral and constitutional foundation, abolishing God's Name and His holy Word, and killing of the innocent and unborn. All these things are taking place right before our eyes and some days I am flummoxed at how so many keep right on going and doing as if nothing is amiss. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>"Some of the racial conflicts that we are having today are happening because race has become an idol." -- Tony Evans (Senior Pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, founder and president of The Urban Alternative, and African American citizen)</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF9BaNEClEiLhn3USO6TIE65xq2bGDMUeyfzpmQH6POCwYbr0zXX0iNthEqFQiWFizwy6KfM6D50Abn9xqJDRZySktwnQ6LC0x3E5BphIyHEHKo8DIzlR6g5SjsGacGHafp73Urrj9Hqc/s1280/idolatry+golden+calf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF9BaNEClEiLhn3USO6TIE65xq2bGDMUeyfzpmQH6POCwYbr0zXX0iNthEqFQiWFizwy6KfM6D50Abn9xqJDRZySktwnQ6LC0x3E5BphIyHEHKo8DIzlR6g5SjsGacGHafp73Urrj9Hqc/w400-h225/idolatry+golden+calf.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i></div><div><br /></div><div>I have read and studied prophecy in the Bible (which accounts for over 30% of scripture). I think we are remiss, as the body of Christ, in not talking about it because I believe we are witnessing something beyond just judgment -- the very times of prophecy being fulfilled. </div><div><br /></div><div>Before you write me off as a conspiracy theorist or a prophecy lunatic, Jesus spoke, at length, regarding end-times prophecy. Today, very well respected pastors, preachers, and theologians are sounding this same alarm. Franklin Graham, in the latest issue of <i>Decision </i>magazine says, <i>"The Bible says, 'For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work' (2 Thessalonians 2:7). Behind the ever-rising tide of violence, rage and anarchy is the evil one, the devil himself, spreading his wickedness in increasing intensity. The sheer brutality that has infected our culture is shocking, but not to our adversary who delights in it."</i></div><div><br /></div><div>Franklin Graham goes on to say, <i>"One day -- and I believe soon -- the lawless one will be revealed, and that is none other than the rise of the antichrist in the Great Tribulation." </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>In Matthew 24, Jesus lays out, for His disciples, a sobering description of the woes which would take place before the end of the age: In addition to wars, there would be famines and pestilence (we've witnessed plagues, viruses, and a pandemic) (Matthew 24:7). Knowledge would increase -- how about by leaps and bounds (Daniel 12:4), but so would immorality. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijjDoy6aSETREPMikBvHG0mJSq7di1thV9E8bDfhF8zsvY9huNgLiwbqFlXfMYgC1f89keAi0VNFCUtX0-uFkrxb7z1A7VQbqnxwx7_o7rUtqy0x-wRJbfnweGCQthnJyxPPcBLsPf-pc/s460/technology+devices.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="292" data-original-width="460" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijjDoy6aSETREPMikBvHG0mJSq7di1thV9E8bDfhF8zsvY9huNgLiwbqFlXfMYgC1f89keAi0VNFCUtX0-uFkrxb7z1A7VQbqnxwx7_o7rUtqy0x-wRJbfnweGCQthnJyxPPcBLsPf-pc/w400-h254/technology+devices.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The love of many would grow cold (Matthew 24:9). Children would turn against their parents and parents against their children. Men would become despisers of faith, and believers would be persecuted (Matthew 24:9). I used to feel like I could freely express my faith, but now the circle of comfort has greatly diminished. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Apostle Paul wrote that men would be "lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers,...lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God." (2 Timothy 3:2-4). And, he describes in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 a great "falling away." Only 6% of Americans now hold a Biblical worldview and it's been quickly shrinking. God is gathering the Jewish population from all ends of the earth back to Israel and armies are rising up and raging against Israel. All these prophecies are coming to pass. </div><div><br /></div><div>I used to think it would have been so unbelievably cool to have lived in Biblical times. Well, I'll be darned if I'm not already there. I believe I am part of the generation which will have the greatest privilege and highest honor to have been chosen to witness these things and to live in such a time as this.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEEPh4brh1pbs1JDZ3-uOm0WzwI2iZXXsTvcgH-SfGxpnjQSpNL3fgE7-POovuCwQqYXVGELW_2k2aPkrhDmUBv3Ys3UO73EpH1bP3VTmOy-kTPj7-rcK3k2VUwgmZ3Cg4OdcQ-TcNr2M/s236/cloud-of-witnesses-painting-30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="236" data-original-width="236" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEEPh4brh1pbs1JDZ3-uOm0WzwI2iZXXsTvcgH-SfGxpnjQSpNL3fgE7-POovuCwQqYXVGELW_2k2aPkrhDmUBv3Ys3UO73EpH1bP3VTmOy-kTPj7-rcK3k2VUwgmZ3Cg4OdcQ-TcNr2M/w400-h400/cloud-of-witnesses-painting-30.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Many are turning to fear, but I believe all of these occurences are cause for encouragement and power <i style="font-weight: bold;">if </i>you are a believer. The fact that God told us <b><i>all</i></b> these things (in scripture) before they occurred, tells us God is still very much in control and very much on the throne. Though darkness surrounds us, we know Jesus -- the Light of the world is coming again and we are assured of our salvation and eternity with Him. </div><div><br /></div><div>We are not to fear, but we need to live all the more assured, more bold and more strengthened. Why? We need to stand up for what we believe, share the Good News of the Gospel with those who don't know. We need to -- as our military says -- "Leave no man behind!" Time is of the essence.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>"If the dark is getting darker, it's time for the lights to go light up the world. If the world is going from bad to worse, now is the time for God's children to go from good to great." - Jonathan Cahn </i></div><div><br /></div><div>What say you? Can you afford not to be bold? </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCxPKc_31F3ZFIQ1VYkalU3rdyqOU6KtJ2GBRGT9tIlMOEq_eeqrfepY20lP0zwbfdfRep3FFTefBSz-ApAWmpGHzN5R6IXFuWnUAbmSmGar2P9LTMdG13mF8ZN4082nNCF4WVS6Few5k/" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="250" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCxPKc_31F3ZFIQ1VYkalU3rdyqOU6KtJ2GBRGT9tIlMOEq_eeqrfepY20lP0zwbfdfRep3FFTefBSz-ApAWmpGHzN5R6IXFuWnUAbmSmGar2P9LTMdG13mF8ZN4082nNCF4WVS6Few5k/" width="320" /></a></div></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>ps. If you've enjoyed what you've read here today -- might you want to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly blog posts (and nothing else)? </b>Head to the SUBSCRIBE tab above and be sure to check for the link which will come in the confirmation email. Thanks for reading...be blessed.</span></div>Bev Rihtarchik - Walking Well With Godhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18225613427007199391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443269509543825661.post-33175791809599549982021-04-02T13:24:00.000-07:002021-04-02T13:24:10.074-07:00Good Friday Confessions of a "Good Girl"<span style="font-family: verdana;">Hey Friend,</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The scripture from Matthew, detailing Jesus's crucifixion on Good Friday, echoed off the battleship-grey cinderblock walls. I secretly watched the women seated around me squirm in their metal folding chairs as our Bible study leader read the searing words aloud.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">These were convicting words being read to convicts. Their crimes ranged from drug offenses, to extortion and fraud, all the way to aggravated assault and homicide. But, the extreme beauty of these women is they <b>knew</b>, beyond a shadow of a doubt, they needed a Savior. Meeting in a Bible study, made possible through Prison Fellowship, was their lifeline to confronting, and moving beyond, their past.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghkjFUfbPIgrSAIC2WUHMYq1hLhUSWLbmrmwaolsovqZJ59EbxHbE03P6ZSXoQr-DfD5VJq_9ATZOe9IDvTzYM2y0VCbkAM2ZlEIkv0iUSpPygVgiqOmKMiSnf2t8GzvU1Aua_pKVWJHo/s2048/jail+cell+corridor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1312" data-original-width="2048" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghkjFUfbPIgrSAIC2WUHMYq1hLhUSWLbmrmwaolsovqZJ59EbxHbE03P6ZSXoQr-DfD5VJq_9ATZOe9IDvTzYM2y0VCbkAM2ZlEIkv0iUSpPygVgiqOmKMiSnf2t8GzvU1Aua_pKVWJHo/w400-h256/jail+cell+corridor.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I'd heard the Easter story every since I was young enough to attend Sunday School class. Visions of felt board characters showing Jesus in the garden, Jesus on the cross, and Jesus risen from the empty grave meandered into the forefront of my conscience.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">As I listened to the inmates share stories of abuse, abortion, and missing their babies outside the prison walls, I realized what a stark contrast lay between my conscience and theirs.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">You see, I pretty much played the role of the "good girl" in my early life. I was the consummate people-pleaser. I colored inside the lines; stayed out of the principal's office; didn't curse, drink, smoke, or do drugs. So when the subject of Jesus dying for my sins came up, I secretly had this notion He died more for other people's sins -- the really big sins like adultery, robbery, and murder, than for mine.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Maybe that's why Good Friday didn't really undo me and then leave me awestruck until I was quite a bit older. I was forty-three when I saw Mel Gibson's very graphic depiction of Jesus's crucifixion in <i>The Passion of the Christ.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqS8mw7kUVievK72GF401GvZtQ0hUd7JfAqZ6ifg84jRY7WSXB8PKNAfKwqTLo3-5T2fs9UCeCOLwcdY7n2Tx22QUvfnKGriqnrGXzApZ-u8UEnaTgjOyOtFeRZKZCf2E_46Omrc62ZFw/s900/Jesus+on+the+cross.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="900" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqS8mw7kUVievK72GF401GvZtQ0hUd7JfAqZ6ifg84jRY7WSXB8PKNAfKwqTLo3-5T2fs9UCeCOLwcdY7n2Tx22QUvfnKGriqnrGXzApZ-u8UEnaTgjOyOtFeRZKZCf2E_46Omrc62ZFw/w400-h225/Jesus+on+the+cross.webp" width="400" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Watching spikes (not nails) being driven into the sinewy flesh of Christ's hands and feet, and blood-laced sweat pour from His brow; witnessing the raw skin and bone torn open on His back -- that's when I saw my sin for what it truly was for the very first time, and only then did I feel the tremendous weight of my transgressions which ushered in the utter sweetness of my salvation. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Crouched and hidden in a dark theatre, tears welled up and then burned down my cheeks as this self-described "good girl" took inventory of the sin she had glossed over for so many years. Conviction grabbed hold of my heart and made it impossible for me to believe Christ died only for those with sins more grave than mine. <b><i>My</i></b> sins had broken His body -- not just someone else's.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Daring to look more closely, self-sufficiency, self-righteousness, as well as endless earning, striving, performing, and people-pleasing jumped out like a glowing neon sign -- PRIDE! I think pride is perhaps the ugliest sin of all -- when we think we can be like Jesus without Jesus.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">And what about the times I had heaped guilt upon myself when I said or did something I regretted. Me, beating myself up, was not God-honoring -- just the opposite. It was like I was saying Jesus paying the price for my sin was not sufficient, and therefore God needed me to do something above and beyond what Christ had already done for me. Pride, once again, reared its ugly head.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">And then there was the perfectionist/controlling part of me. I thought I was in God's good graces because I tried extra hard to be perfect and I sought to have control over my life. I had missed, or perhaps skimmed over, the verses that said:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>For ALL (emphasis mine) have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) </i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">And this:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #001320; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do NOTHING (emphasis mine)." (John 15:5)</i></b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">And finally:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #001320; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. (Isaiah 64:6)</i></b></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #001320; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #001320; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #001320; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx_RBs31Q-W8E4Cgby7xd4RtWi6KbzIUYKJs3cs2710_991qTaoM0e9STqEqa5Pvi67edFUX8NZeNbVlVZqfecu78QiX-g6tm4lND7L9owFIS5tuGtPEVZBTyLbA2yidFw9ZlQmdSaGgg/s2048/pride+words+on+hoodie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1424" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx_RBs31Q-W8E4Cgby7xd4RtWi6KbzIUYKJs3cs2710_991qTaoM0e9STqEqa5Pvi67edFUX8NZeNbVlVZqfecu78QiX-g6tm4lND7L9owFIS5tuGtPEVZBTyLbA2yidFw9ZlQmdSaGgg/w278-h400/pride+words+on+hoodie.jpg" width="278" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i></b></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #001320; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #001320; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I was not unlike the women I met with, and set myself above, in prison. In fact, they were far ahead of me because they realized how desperately they needed a Savior. I was still being made a prisoner by my own pride.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">Until His sacrifice met me where I lived, until I recognized I was a rebel and a far cry from felt-board Jesus, I was unable to understand and claim the grace and power which defied death and overcame the grave.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">Jesus didn't go to the cross for good girls and boys. He went for sinners -- sinners like me. Grasping the depth of His love which paid a debt I could never ever pay humbles me and brings me to my knees. </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">Oh, what a Savior, oh what grace that saved a wretch like me...</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTrVGphr4gKt_LHNIfVu_vm5qjz0r1JHnnQGvtiLtzQS7v9XjxPq44iwp0ZhzvZS7bMQxKbCYrm44G73HjTysmrGD_0zUjQN6KPwrPQ-Cp633IxOHG2D_8naDyQEBuPHHA7Tce5J95VRE/s2048/good+girl+heart+hands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTrVGphr4gKt_LHNIfVu_vm5qjz0r1JHnnQGvtiLtzQS7v9XjxPq44iwp0ZhzvZS7bMQxKbCYrm44G73HjTysmrGD_0zUjQN6KPwrPQ-Cp633IxOHG2D_8naDyQEBuPHHA7Tce5J95VRE/w400-h300/good+girl+heart+hands.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><b>Dear Heavenly Father, Please forgive me for my arrogance and pride that kept me from knowing the utter sweetness of my salvation. You laid down your life for me -- for my sins. Thank you loving me so much you couldn't bear to live without me. Let that sink into my stubborn spirit. Thank you for declaring I belong to You. What a friend I have in you, Jesus! I praise you nothing can change the way you love me -- nothing can separate me from your love. You broke the chains that held me. Your forgiveness is like honey on my lips. Let them declare your love, power, and glory all of my days. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.</b></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><i>What about you? Have you ever taken Jesus death on the cross for granted? Why is that? How can you go forward and live a life that points others to Jesus? How does Good Friday and the power of the risen Christ change your life? Your outlook? Will you share?</i></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><i>Be blessed....</i></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi03xVeDrJNdeFhtIkcEyeUzOhgFoiia42QVclZsaO-_8pDv2Xutb0mFrYJ7uV_4258pw4lZepfKMM9e_bnYwx-Xj_369FmYjzUnUSnav6fEYAoV9gubxCGDxPCtdwNxgixnjWB1RFcaaA/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="250" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi03xVeDrJNdeFhtIkcEyeUzOhgFoiia42QVclZsaO-_8pDv2Xutb0mFrYJ7uV_4258pw4lZepfKMM9e_bnYwx-Xj_369FmYjzUnUSnav6fEYAoV9gubxCGDxPCtdwNxgixnjWB1RFcaaA/" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbOsHYr-cPgKIS3klMp7mt8GiGNi_xNXwyFjun3yj79YlizbmfhcEmgJHPxHW-oO2u-VKxp_1ODT7BhSQ4bF30odAA0SVtXCAI0mjzMZF-i-3l34Z1f4IakKM1VHFugt1AgsdiNnvIxhc/s2048/take+heart+graphic+new.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbOsHYr-cPgKIS3klMp7mt8GiGNi_xNXwyFjun3yj79YlizbmfhcEmgJHPxHW-oO2u-VKxp_1ODT7BhSQ4bF30odAA0SVtXCAI0mjzMZF-i-3l34Z1f4IakKM1VHFugt1AgsdiNnvIxhc/s320/take+heart+graphic+new.jpeg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b style="font-size: x-large;">Open House Giveaway Still Going On: </b>If you've enjoyed what you read here today and would like to receive my weekly blog posts (and nothing else) AND you'd like to be entered to win a copy of <b style="font-style: italic;">Take Heart: 100 devotions to seeing God when life's not okay, </b>all you have to do is SUBSCRIBE to my blog at the tab above <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=WalkingWellWithGod&loc=en_US">or click HERE</a> Thanks for reading.</div><br /><br /></span></div>Bev Rihtarchik - Walking Well With Godhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18225613427007199391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443269509543825661.post-77047934146551277552021-03-24T12:03:00.000-07:002021-03-24T12:03:48.761-07:00Open House, GIVEAWAY & Upcoming Posts<span style="font-family: verdana;">Welcome to my Blog Open House...</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit-bYx2uOR88ooqK4Jo5pgRbdPaFWdjCpJ2cwDoKyLBxwnmEBuOq-sw_XSwYrOpjZ5lG7pG9dsBDfFEiwPsDdjdsa5ioJz8oBrg8UcY7mr63u382b79tTctYb1VwAKCmbrPKddYmOWNz0/s2048/front+porch+3.2021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1519" data-original-width="2048" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit-bYx2uOR88ooqK4Jo5pgRbdPaFWdjCpJ2cwDoKyLBxwnmEBuOq-sw_XSwYrOpjZ5lG7pG9dsBDfFEiwPsDdjdsa5ioJz8oBrg8UcY7mr63u382b79tTctYb1VwAKCmbrPKddYmOWNz0/w400-h296/front+porch+3.2021.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I've been doing some major spring cleaning and sprucing up. Like my home spring cleaning, this was long overdue. Funny how we said if we had more time we'd get to all those little unfinished projects. Then, COVID hit. We had more time on our hands, but ironically those projects -- at least my projects, still remain on the "to-do" list. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">So, here we are...here you are...and here are a few things to check out while you're here:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>WELCOME TO MY "NEW AND IMPROVED BLOG!!" </b>Check out the updated info on all the tabs above. This is what makes me want to get up each day. Read about a ministry in "Missions" that is shining a bright light in a dark corner of the world. Click on the two devotional pictures on the sidebar and you can easily order a special devotional gift for someone for Easter or Mother's Day!!</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>WRITER FRIENDS - CHECK OUT THE BLOGS I FOLLOW - YOUR BLOG MAY BE FEATURED?! </b>I love sharing your words with my readers. If you aren't on the current "Blogs I Follow" list, email me and let me know you'd like to be added to the rotating list. I want my readers to be encouraged at YOUR site! We're all arrows pointing to the same Lord and Savior.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>GIVEAWAY TIME:</b></span> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>SUBSCRIBE TO MY BLOG OR leave a message on Facebook or Instagram and automatically be entered to win a copy of </b><i style="font-weight: bold;">Take Heart - 100 devotions to seeing God when life's not okay. </i>(US and Canada only) Just go to the SUBSCRIBE tab above. Go to CONNECT WITH ME to comment on Facebook or Instagram. Good luck!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Q6Wroz2I6N58nW6WuLlY67BYlfT_RI9n-wz0XnTYIDoS8T6bwSPT0s57kncS7hpin5aKYD8QCKZiYlQWRXV5uMdCHkSMMVU5kifU4HWERfkVmfcX97HaF-8JETSJJVnmODmUBjLLa48/s2048/Take+Heart+me+with+Book+2020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1898" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Q6Wroz2I6N58nW6WuLlY67BYlfT_RI9n-wz0XnTYIDoS8T6bwSPT0s57kncS7hpin5aKYD8QCKZiYlQWRXV5uMdCHkSMMVU5kifU4HWERfkVmfcX97HaF-8JETSJJVnmODmUBjLLa48/s320/Take+Heart+me+with+Book+2020.jpg" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In case you missed it <a href="https://walkingwellwithgod.blogspot.com/2021/02/when-god-says-no.html">Click HERE to read "When God Says, "No"</a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Look for upcoming posts in this series:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>~What to Do When God Says, "Wait" </i></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>~When God Finally Says, "Go"</i></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">If you want to be sure to get these posts, just go to the SUBSCRIBE tab above and you will receive my weekly blog posts (and nothing else). </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thanks so much for stopping by...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Be blessed...</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcO_MW6Vlg0LqnJrH_03t-Ei2rfmYynQYpWPPEa5KGBAokN8O2wTmt6COv5oLsYXljWengQbB4l7r9edvEWwEkCMV09ebVNIUeeFTTtL3ny0XJLKwrUaumEnirYf5l3HQGxA2AULmFhEM/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="250" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcO_MW6Vlg0LqnJrH_03t-Ei2rfmYynQYpWPPEa5KGBAokN8O2wTmt6COv5oLsYXljWengQbB4l7r9edvEWwEkCMV09ebVNIUeeFTTtL3ny0XJLKwrUaumEnirYf5l3HQGxA2AULmFhEM/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div>Bev Rihtarchik - Walking Well With Godhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18225613427007199391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443269509543825661.post-72470735120456659412021-02-28T12:30:00.003-08:002021-03-23T08:03:47.289-07:00When God Says, "No" - Plus GIVEAWAY<span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>WELCOME TO MY "NEW AND IMPROVED BLOG!!" </b>Check out the updated info on all the tabs above. This is what makes me want to get up each day. Click on the two devotional pictures in the sidebar and you can easily order a a special gift for someone for Easter or Mother's Day!!</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>WRITER FRIENDS - CHECK OUT THE BLOGS I FOLLOW - YOUR BLOG MAY BE FEATURED. </b>I love sharing your words with my readers. If you aren't on the current "Blogs I Follow" list, email me and let me know you'd like to be added to the rotating list.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Grab a cup of java and read one of my recent posts below. I'm so glad you're here. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>SUBSCRIBE TO MY BLOG OR leave a message on Facebook or Instagram and automatically be entered to win a copy of </b><i style="font-weight: bold;">Take Heart - 100 devotions to seeing God when life's not okay. </i>(US and Canada only)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Hey Friends,</span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I had been gathering "life research" for almost sixty years. I'd journalled, written blog posts, and stored up experiences and lessons in my mind, all the while asking God, "Is it time, yet?" To which He'd whisper to my heart, "Not yet."</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">So, when I got this undeniable nudge, from God, in the early months of 2020 to begin writing the book which had been churning around inside me, this thoroughbred hit the dirt running as if the starting gate at the Kentucky Derby had suddenly been thrown open.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">COVID-19 hit and I buckled down even more - almost glad to have more time to write without distraction. I was blessed to participate in an awesome but grueling book proposal bootcamp. For months, I forgot to eat meals and the hours flew by as I hunkered down writing words I was certain God ordained for me to write. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I'd dreamed of being a writer since I was a little girl and here, just before my 60th birthday, it was going to come true. Except it didn't. Ultimately, seven writers' proposals were chosen for potential publication. Mine wasn't one of them. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Why, God?" I whined. <i>That's not fair </i>I thought to myself. I'd sacrificed a lot and had put many important relationships on "hold" to pursue what I was certain was God's calling. It made no sense. Why would God call me to it only to just say, "No?"</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaso9ZSkv9HfawGF_KUFydFqL6eQqYsVUTDRC75C5VzVtv4ZoDFmycSCsRFk4KZey1N08U48CclL8eTcu0pqE8PfnjLNbpbGaoIeZpsiwiagJ6ir3ciXhNgrYgDwWw7jBRgsT2zZzMDE4/s1280/it%2527s+not+fair+boy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="1280" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaso9ZSkv9HfawGF_KUFydFqL6eQqYsVUTDRC75C5VzVtv4ZoDFmycSCsRFk4KZey1N08U48CclL8eTcu0pqE8PfnjLNbpbGaoIeZpsiwiagJ6ir3ciXhNgrYgDwWw7jBRgsT2zZzMDE4/w400-h200/it%2527s+not+fair+boy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>When God says, "No," our reaction is to think He's not being fair. </b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>As my dad used to say, "Fair is where you go to get cotton candy." </b>(grumble, grumble)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">If I was a writer for a magazine and my editor asked me to write a story for the upcoming edition then told me she wasn't going to print it, I would be justified in saying, "That's not fair."</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">But, God is not my employer and I'm not His employee. He is my Father and I am His child and that changes things dramatically. Sometimes Fatherly love and wisdom together equal a "no." I need only remember times Ive said "no" to my children - not because I wanted to steal there joy but because I saw the bigger picture. Perhaps I was protecting them from something, or perhaps my "no" was leading to an even more important "yes." I knew better because I was the parent.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>As God's children we don't get everything we ask for because we don't really know what's best for us. </b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Here are a few categories in which God says, "No.":</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>1.</b> <b>Sin: </b>God will always say "no" to sin. We're not just talking about the "big" sins like murder, stealing, or adultery. Actually sin is sin and it's the more insidious sins like jealousy, pride, anger, or wrong attitudes that trip us up. It's not a sin to experience anger, but if I lash out at my husband because of how I feel, that's sin. Or, if someone wrongs me and I harbor unforgiveness because I feel justified in clinging to my grudge, I'm sinning. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>God gives us the guardrails of His Word. When we obey and stay within their confines we experience joy. </b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcsyuc5dydyD6HC4oTWPORxTTsc5jq1asOvgrip5WLyYm2v-ez3Iru_z7ncFf-91aBnQqQIgzD03jsmVTosVPjVgwjOyvXB11KEHZLDIroLSy6UR-ImSj9jRLZeOkvvqNB-3hMP2HqvN4/s1139/guardrails.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="679" data-original-width="1139" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcsyuc5dydyD6HC4oTWPORxTTsc5jq1asOvgrip5WLyYm2v-ez3Iru_z7ncFf-91aBnQqQIgzD03jsmVTosVPjVgwjOyvXB11KEHZLDIroLSy6UR-ImSj9jRLZeOkvvqNB-3hMP2HqvN4/w400-h239/guardrails.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>When God says, "No" to our sin, He is fighting for our ultimate joy.</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>2. Comfort: </b>God often says, "No" to our comfort. We are to make ourselves "living sacrifices" according to God's Word (Romans 12:1). I admit I have tried to wiggle off the sacrificial altar a time or ten. When I have to choose between my comfort or dying to my comfort, it's not fun. God is asking whether I will choose self or am I willing to dye to self? Sacrifice is not comfortable.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I can relay many stories about experiencing anything but comfort. If given a choice, I imagine few of us would choose pain and suffering over comfort and happiness. Hindsight is 20/20. When I look back over those times, it is clear God was in the process of humbling me or transforming me. In Luke 9:23 we are encouraged to take up our cross: <i>"Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me."</i> Taking up our cross will not be comfortable.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>We won't experience true Life unless we die to self.</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>3. Dreams: </b>God will occassionally say, "No" to dreams. When this happens, like it did to me, we want to shout, "Why?" - especially if we feel we are in line with His will. This is when we have to embrace perhaps the hardest challenge - to look beyond the "WHY" and focus on the "WHO" saying, "No." </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Why? = Focus on me. Who? = Focus on God.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>When I focus on what I don't get, I've forgotten about what I have already received.</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>I have received the very best "YES" - my salvation which I did not deserve.</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>I deserved death, but God said, "NO" to death and "YES" to life for me.</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Jesus, literally sweating blood, begged His Father to be spared from the cup of a tortuous death on the cross and God gave a "no" that forever changed the world. We can measure God's compassion by the cross - the seizmic "no" that threw open wide the gates of heaven for us.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXBIXUfAW2lMADSD3mI6IFJxgrAK4QX4gEegYqYFMsodXsZniIplzG-UL5pC5P0G61WER-08C57u0u_G4wk1dxzzwa87E1gvcFoE2voaxTuL4utlcLKF9eWg3Ym0buX0VNglY9IeNal4c/s1080/Jesus_Prays_in_Gethsemane-1080x675.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1080" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXBIXUfAW2lMADSD3mI6IFJxgrAK4QX4gEegYqYFMsodXsZniIplzG-UL5pC5P0G61WER-08C57u0u_G4wk1dxzzwa87E1gvcFoE2voaxTuL4utlcLKF9eWg3Ym0buX0VNglY9IeNal4c/w400-h250/Jesus_Prays_in_Gethsemane-1080x675.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">God doesn't need to explain Himself to me. Perhaps I need to embrace the answer I didn't want because it is leading to joy beyond my wildest imagination. Or maybe, I need to embrace the "no" because I am being transformed into Christ's image and He accepted the greatest "no" that was ever given...for me.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Dear Heavenly Father, You have given me so many blessings. Enable me to accept the "no's" graciously. I praise you I have an eternal "yes" because Jesus accepted the greatest "no" in order to save me. Teach me to respond as Jesus did, "Not my will, but Yours be done." Let me dwell in your Word so that I may be obedient in obeying your commands and run from sin. Help me not to value my comfort too greatly and be willing to serve others by sacrificing my time, talent, and treasure. I acknowledge your "no" may be paving the way to a greater "yes." But, even if not, let me humbly accept your sovereignty, mystery, and unfathomable goodness, even when my dream is not answered in the affirmative. Let me lean into the "Who" and forget the "Why?" It is in the precious name of Jesus I pray, Amen.</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>What about you...has God ever said "no" to you? What was your reaction? Was God trying to protect you? Transform you? Humble you? Do you ever squirm under the call to be a living sacrifice? Any lessons you've learned that you'd care to share? </i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Be Blessed...</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgic3zuvlqW7EbHTx821Q_kKBuZ5_y9kgc4NQX59aciXUBTXIYHcraJlK58lZvEG53uaR83DidWBRcKe0kbTGEfE9veO-Tt7cnqeROXUHEBvyD-ijAqlWfIuykuOHACUYv3A_cXJkq-tr8/" style="clear: left; display: inline; font-family: verdana; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="250" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgic3zuvlqW7EbHTx821Q_kKBuZ5_y9kgc4NQX59aciXUBTXIYHcraJlK58lZvEG53uaR83DidWBRcKe0kbTGEfE9veO-Tt7cnqeROXUHEBvyD-ijAqlWfIuykuOHACUYv3A_cXJkq-tr8/" width="320" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>ps. </b>If you've enjoyed what you read here today, might you want to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly blog post (and nothing else)? If so, just go to the SUBSCRIBE tab above and enter your contact information. Then <b>be sure to check your inbox (spam filter too) for a CONFIRMATION LINK you will have to click to complete your subscription. </b>Welcome and thanks for reading!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><br /></span></div></div></div>Bev Rihtarchik - Walking Well With Godhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18225613427007199391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443269509543825661.post-59563369886890119942021-02-11T10:47:00.000-08:002021-02-11T10:47:36.753-08:00How Can I Smile at the Future?<span style="font-family: verdana;">Hey Friend,</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">For several months I've felt like the character Tom Hanks plays in the movie <i>Castaway. </i>Hanks, a FedEx troubleshooter stranded on an uninhabited island after his plane crashes in the South Pacific, has one friend on the entire island - "Wilson" - played by a Wilson volleyball.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">My situation hasn't been that dire, since the refrigerator is only steps away, but I have been alone with "Dell," my laptop, in my writer's world - gritting it out in a book proposal bootcamp. I developed a pinched nerve in my elbow from all the clicking away on Dell's keys. I haven't seen or talked to friends in months. It's been a focused, awesome, grueling, lonely existence.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">After going from 1000 to 100, I found out on Monday that I didn't make the final seven who will most likely go on to having their books published. I won't lie - the disappointment hit hard especially due to the sacrifice of missed time with those I love. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIVW_i1uIdg5-9z11wY9zcQY4DKIfhBTxQQ1lOuyXD8H2N9d105KtqY7TwW0-FFx8eQpRIPB-SI5qnp5wM6uKMAApC1tZ_zq5lZxuPRv46kiA7wqHx97-ktr0pXYtzibm-st9wWa_6sQY/s600/tired-writer.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIVW_i1uIdg5-9z11wY9zcQY4DKIfhBTxQQ1lOuyXD8H2N9d105KtqY7TwW0-FFx8eQpRIPB-SI5qnp5wM6uKMAApC1tZ_zq5lZxuPRv46kiA7wqHx97-ktr0pXYtzibm-st9wWa_6sQY/w400-h266/tired-writer.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I'm leaning in to find out what God would have me learn from this whole experience. Afterall, it was at His nudging...no...His shoving that got me started writing this book in the first place. What up, God?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Most of my life, I have entertained the notion that I've got to be continually on the move building God's kingdom. Everything I do has to have an eternal good purpose. Talk about self-pressure?!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I can't remember the last time I read a fiction book for pleasure. Is this what God wants for me?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I also admit to feeling an urgency in sharing the hope that is in me because I believe the days are evil and numbered. I don't see the rapture being some far off event seen only in the distance of the high beams. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Jesus implores us to be ready for His coming which could happen at any time (Mark 13:33-37). What response are we to have? This is what I gleaned from a recent rereading of Revelation:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">1. <b>Obedience: </b>We are to be living in obedience to God's word. We are to not only be hearers of His word, but faithful doers. This chaotic and lost world is watching us and we need to live in such a way that we are not ashamed of our behavior. How would you appraise your behavior in terms of obedience...my will or Thy will?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">2. <b>Worship: </b>God has provided a way to escape His end-time judgments - His free gift of salvation offered through Jesus. Our job is to receive His salvation and live in gratitude before Him. Our worship on earth will one day become worship in heaven. What song are you currently singing?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">3. <b>Proclamation: </b>The message of God's gift of salvation through the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ, and the truth of His second coming need to be proclaimed for all to hear, especially to those who don't yet believe. We must give everyone the chance to turn to God, repent, and be saved. Revelation 22:10 says, "And he said to me, 'Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.'" What are you doing to proclaim this life-saving message?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">4. <b>Service: </b>As believers we should be diligent about carrying out God's will and performing good works. Yes, this has become more challenging during COVID distancing, but there are creative ways of serving others. We do not enter heaven based on our works, but 2 Corinthians 5:10 says this, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." You are saved by grace, but what will God say about how you used the gifts given to you?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHUtduTvPxYGECypnvlt0SaKB4ezng_atbeS-R3Dss08oWkI24H-cdKswHJYK9H_BjdKX-9VUW1FW4uaw2nhzlN9fRGwxF1QLlRbg_KJ5HqERZ7ISX9kB9frIhTcijrhJC3Pd_GK83xuw/s262/fork+in+the+road.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="192" data-original-width="262" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHUtduTvPxYGECypnvlt0SaKB4ezng_atbeS-R3Dss08oWkI24H-cdKswHJYK9H_BjdKX-9VUW1FW4uaw2nhzlN9fRGwxF1QLlRbg_KJ5HqERZ7ISX9kB9frIhTcijrhJC3Pd_GK83xuw/w400-h293/fork+in+the+road.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">No, this is not meant to be a giant guilt trip. I have always taken these precepts a little too legalistically which is not God's intent. I need less guilt and more joy in my obedience. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I felt a certain urgency in proclaiming God's love and faithfulness through writing a book. I have served others by founding a Christian non-profit which brings the Good News to a dark corner of the world. Those are big things, but maybe, my obedience, worship, proclamation, and service need to be based more on the everyday right now?! How can I encourage someone who is discouraged and downtrodden by this pandemic? How can I be a friend to someone who is lonely or suffering? How can I serve those I abandoned while chasing the grandiose?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Maybe, just maybe, I need to get back to basics - loving those around me in my everyday world. Let my life-arrow point to Jesus in the grocery store check-out line, as I walk my dog and greet my neighbors, in lifting my voice in worship as I wash the dishes. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Sometimes God calls us to extraordinary challenges...and sometimes He calls us to simply know and love Him and love our neighbor as ourself. If I know God - I mean really KNOW Him because I've spent countless hours with Him to the point that thoughts of the future bring eagerness and comfort, then I'm walking in His will and can smile about what is to come. Second, what have I done for my literal neighbor lately? </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I'm going to bake something and take it to my nextdoor neighbor. I'm going to write a note to my other neighbor battling pancreatic cancer. I'm going to pick up some flowers for my elderly neighbor who lives alone. I'm going to think of creative ways to be Christ to the next person with whom I come in contact. What about you? How do you plan to be mistaken for Jesus? How might this help you smile at the future?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Will you share some ideas you've done or want to take on to pursue obedience, worship, proclamation, and service?</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF9nBOqNDck0yUS7AMA0AUnIYO6wRESeVluYCQmYtaWTrCjx-JshVNM9_6lAf8JWkTSxg7YEEsREtCahw9Wv8-G6SQGB6RSpQ2FPYlPrmpRMwr-l9mxGWHyD1cdYrZEIQ4h3xf6_dKYzU/" style="clear: left; display: inline; font-family: verdana; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="250" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF9nBOqNDck0yUS7AMA0AUnIYO6wRESeVluYCQmYtaWTrCjx-JshVNM9_6lAf8JWkTSxg7YEEsREtCahw9Wv8-G6SQGB6RSpQ2FPYlPrmpRMwr-l9mxGWHyD1cdYrZEIQ4h3xf6_dKYzU/" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>ps. If you've enjoyed what you read here today, </b>might you want to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly blog posts (and nothing else)? Just enter your email address in the SUBSCRIBE tab then <b>be sure to look for a confirmation email and CLICK ON THE CONFIRMATION LINK to complete the subscription. You can unsubscribe at any time. </b><i>Thanks for reading...</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><br /></span></div>Bev Rihtarchik - Walking Well With Godhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18225613427007199391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443269509543825661.post-2864966703992706142021-01-29T08:09:00.000-08:002021-01-29T08:09:35.344-08:00Will You Settle for "Return to Normal?"<span style="font-family: verdana;">Hey Friend,</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">"I just want things to return to normal," I heard the woman lament as she stood six feet in front of me in the grocery checkout line.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Her words rolled around in my head and I admit part of me longed for the "good old days" simply because I'm frazzled, weary, and my fuse has grown short. But, her words contradicted what I had just read in Hebrews during my early morning quiet time.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">God told Abraham to pull up stakes in his cozy little hometown of Ur. Why? Because God was going to take him to a place, a land rich with milk and honey, which would be his ineritance. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Abraham, being a God-fearing man, agreed. The Bible says that Abraham "Went out, even though he didn't know where he was going." (Hebrews 11:8). Before he got to the land God had promised him, Abraham lived through some hard times - in tents mind you. His worries were greater than, "Will I be able to get toilet paper and hand sanitizer."</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcdRG__vXj5o_odUP1PS60WdR4L-L_MStNjEOsBtirMBtI4XgaGEWrOfUyInCUt6uVA-okc9YhcoN4BNdgYZDg5GHVeBKit0EhZWtzMTlRu_Z8FbU_FTgyIRwaIV3GSYX0sxUHarRaeBU/s680/abrahams+tent+in+desert+1.2021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="423" data-original-width="680" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcdRG__vXj5o_odUP1PS60WdR4L-L_MStNjEOsBtirMBtI4XgaGEWrOfUyInCUt6uVA-okc9YhcoN4BNdgYZDg5GHVeBKit0EhZWtzMTlRu_Z8FbU_FTgyIRwaIV3GSYX0sxUHarRaeBU/w400-h249/abrahams+tent+in+desert+1.2021.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I'm certain Abraham had many doubts, even regrets about leaving his comfortable way of living behind for <i>this? </i>Yet, he clung to God's promise He was taking Abraham to a place God himself was preparing for him. Though his heart may have wanted a "return to normal," Abraham fixed his thoughts on the good God had promised.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Noah lived in a time, not too unlike today, in which the days were evil. While everyone around Noah made merry and indulged in every sort of wickedness, Noah, in faith, listened to God. He built the ark, laboring day after long day, as onlookers called him a fool. He, too, had no idea where he was going or how long it would take to get there.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">When the rains came and after many weeks cooped up with the stench of animal dung, Noah probably wished things could return to normal. Still, he clung to God's promise despite what his circumstances dictated.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">As I read through Hebrews, one by one famous names of the Bible were called out for living by faith:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">By faith Abel...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">By faith Noah...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">By faith Abraham...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">By faith Sarah...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">By faith Isaac...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">By faith Moses...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">By faith Rahab...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">By faith Gideon, Samson, David, Solomon, Samuel, Mary...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">They were willing to trade in what was comfortable, accept that the interim would be terribly hard, but they knew, by faith, that God would lead them to their promised land. They trusted that God was good.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Right now we are living in figurative tents in the wilderness. We are sick of eating manna everyday, and we long for what was. We're weary, worn, and overwhelmed by life. We don't like discipline and times of testing. It feels like God is shaking the earth to loosen the junk so as to see what of quality remains. It's so easy to slip back into the old way of doing things simply because it's comfortable. If we go back, what might we be letting go of that lies ahead?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">My husband ran cross country in high school and college. If you've ever watched a cross country race, it takes perseverance, endurance, coping with agonizing pain and still pushing through. Some runners fall down or have to bow out along the way because the course is too grueling. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDOPyuxdo9G_EtR3FBhhZ_ADBxkUOkTtr6oQQ5vumrRyQwkGo2BqbDCDazX3ilN_euNru9_i3uqfhjuldxvwHEBCp4LaknwBXs2HpbNtTWhPhV_8YuxHKDbviqUPb7A03S1mgD7mfjBPk/s1600/cross+country+runners+girls.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1138" data-original-width="1600" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDOPyuxdo9G_EtR3FBhhZ_ADBxkUOkTtr6oQQ5vumrRyQwkGo2BqbDCDazX3ilN_euNru9_i3uqfhjuldxvwHEBCp4LaknwBXs2HpbNtTWhPhV_8YuxHKDbviqUPb7A03S1mgD7mfjBPk/w400-h285/cross+country+runners+girls.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The race we are running right now is grueling, but there is a glorious prize at the end. You don't even have to win the race, you simply have to finish.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2)</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">What are you willing to endure to experience the joy that lies ahead?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">What did Christ endure to provide a perfect eternity for you?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Does it make a difference that others are watching to see how you react and respond to our circumstances?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">In the Book of Life, do you want your name to fill in one of the blanks?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">By faith <u>(Your name)</u>...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">So, will it be "return to normal," or set your sights on what's to come?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Dear Heavenly Father, I praise you and thank you that you have promised me a mansion in heaven which you are now preparing. I can't wait to walk the streets of gold and fall with gratitude before you. Forgive me for my grumbling and lack of gratitude. Give me your sufficient grace to persevere through the wilderness and keep running the race laid out for me. Even if each day looks like putting one foot in front of the other with your praise on my lips, then I will give thanks. Help me to see the bigger picture - to look through your eternal lens. Keep my eyes focused on you. This world is not my home, I am but a foreigner passing through, but as I pass through, let my life be defined by my faith in You. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>What about you? Might you share your answer to one of the questions above? What keeps you going through these grueling days?</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Be blessed...</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRl4mQviyKFa1JMGxZHe6qL9CT_XItHqt7Ys6aZFwTxST-o6geG_9cSt5G9Yj1JXeYumYgQXwKzqHQs_ecGVzcGbadPJ_00wRYq-TtsiUjrccemTAdjSC0Fs_6UC0LQfNFFXVNmvoxzh8/" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; font-family: verdana; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="250" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRl4mQviyKFa1JMGxZHe6qL9CT_XItHqt7Ys6aZFwTxST-o6geG_9cSt5G9Yj1JXeYumYgQXwKzqHQs_ecGVzcGbadPJ_00wRYq-TtsiUjrccemTAdjSC0Fs_6UC0LQfNFFXVNmvoxzh8/" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>ps. </b>I've been on hiatus while I completed a twelve week book proposal bootcamp through COMPEL by Proverbs 31 Ministries, but it's good to be back. If you've enjoyed what you've read here today, might you want to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly blog (and nothing else). Simply go to SUBSCRIBE above, enter your email address and then<b> be sure to check your inbox. There will be a CONFIRMATION LINK YOU NEED TO CLICK TO CONFIRM YOUR SUBSCRIPTION. </b>You can always cancel at any time. Thanks for reading...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><br /></span></div>Bev Rihtarchik - Walking Well With Godhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18225613427007199391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443269509543825661.post-29229746747871596322020-12-06T04:33:00.000-08:002020-12-06T04:33:14.042-08:00Have We Broken God's Heart?<span style="font-family: verdana;">Hey Friend,</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">After this week's post, I'm taking a few weeks off to allow myself to reflect on Jesus' coming. My mom will be here with us and bootcamp still calls. This is the last week for the "Take Heart" devotional and prayer journal GIVEAWAY so make sure you read the rules for entry below. May you and your family have a peace-filled Advent season!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Have we broken God's heart?</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><i>"The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. <b>It broke his heart. </b>And the Lord said, "I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, I will <b>destroy every living thing</b> - all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them." But Noah found favor with the Lord. (Genesis 6: 5-8)</i></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;">It occurred to me that ever since I was a little girl and heard the story of Noah, I had fixed my mind on the fact that <b>God wanted to destroy every living thing. </b>If you really wanted to sum up the story...I may have told you, "The whole world was wicked and so God wanted to destroy it all." </span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;">The part I kept overlooking was the sentence, <b>"It broke his heart." </b></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;">I can think on times as a parent that my children, whom I love dearly, did things that broke my heart. It wasn't that I was angry with them, it was more that I wanted the very best for them and by their disobedience they wound up doing things that ushered in harsh consequences. It was at those times that my <b>heart grieved. This wasn't what I wanted for them. I wanted so much more. My heart of love wanted abundance for them.</b></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;">I am learning that God has a heart...and it hurts. It hurts with what hurts us.</span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;">Perhaps the Great Flood was millions of tear drops of sacred ache. Maybe the expanses of water that covered the whole earth were slow drips of sadness from the omniscient eyes of God. Perhaps the floodgates of God's grieving heart burst open and every crevice of the earth filled with the sheer weight of His brokenness. </span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3OE-HtersgJfgNilEX6lPe6ggZku6LuU5pU6F2Jsy00p6mDJ3FnPXJTr8_NIG68R34vhMc3rGSmE938phEZAElXbsrYNzrSBNYy4LqeEHW9lXFkllOlhM3BQtEXhe19u1cXpgJ522UYE/s1600/Noah%2527s+ark+and+flood.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="709" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3OE-HtersgJfgNilEX6lPe6ggZku6LuU5pU6F2Jsy00p6mDJ3FnPXJTr8_NIG68R34vhMc3rGSmE938phEZAElXbsrYNzrSBNYy4LqeEHW9lXFkllOlhM3BQtEXhe19u1cXpgJ522UYE/s400/Noah%2527s+ark+and+flood.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><b>The Flood was the flood of God's grief born of love.</b></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;">God in His love and goodness, had mercy on His creation and so He made a way with the rough hewn timbers of the ark for Noah, his family, and two of every creature He'd created, to find their way to safety and salvation. </span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><b>God's love outlasted His grief.</b></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><b>God could have wiped the world clean and washed His hands of the mess, but He chose to keep suffering along with His creation.</b></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;">God then gave His people the Covenant of the Old Testament. On tablets He gave His people laws to obey that would lead to freedom. Keep the ten commandments and be able to live in communion with the Alpha and the Omega. </span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;">But no, His people grieved His heart, not once, but many times. God, instead of sending an ark, fashioned a cradle of holy timbers that would hold this God-made-flesh Savior in its arms. </span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqHSQRoQLDdGO-oHY2Il5ernvMV-DPStITb3cohSNzMEtm2VvyYfKc103-_Q61Zeh0N9RenAyorViYhJnzEah002xKymFJWjYYrUfHvEIutL92TIL08HUSJc3_TQxdnsZGhnCyLWO7qdc/s1600/cradle+rough+timbers.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="425" data-original-width="770" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqHSQRoQLDdGO-oHY2Il5ernvMV-DPStITb3cohSNzMEtm2VvyYfKc103-_Q61Zeh0N9RenAyorViYhJnzEah002xKymFJWjYYrUfHvEIutL92TIL08HUSJc3_TQxdnsZGhnCyLWO7qdc/s400/cradle+rough+timbers.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><b>God looked at the world and once again, His heart broke. Tears fell and He knew He had to bring heaven down to earth.</b></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;">God chose to come and live among His people as Jesus Christ the Son. He put on human flesh and He endured human pain and suffering. As an infant Jesus wept. He knew pain from hunger and cold. He grew to know the pain of being ostracized and hated. When His friend died, Jesus didn't preach...He wept. </span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;">In His ministry Jesus was mocked, betrayed, lied to, forsaken, abandoned, beaten, broken, hated, forgotten...He experienced heartbreak from a complete human perspective. He cried real human tears. </span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><b>God the Father grieved once again. He had sent His Son, but the world rejected Him. He sent a Savior and the crowds yelled, "Crucify Him!"</b></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;">Jesus was stripped, beaten, flogged and inhumanely nailed to the timbers that made the cross. While His Son died the cruelest death, God wept. The love that poured down from God's broken heart was like holy water to our parched souls. The flood of Christ's blood made white our sinful stains.</span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNcaTs8BpBJYyKyXniOU5pLrSEi32Se_bMDCSxqM0_2lBO37OQX9nr4AH-6_1Rg8akMHKBlybW4ywiCiIcGi3by2GQQfOcMQU7_IfkDz3jr-2NIgWiHCtnTmJc5zcMcyeWVIv5FCP0Y18/s1600/rugged+cross.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="736" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNcaTs8BpBJYyKyXniOU5pLrSEi32Se_bMDCSxqM0_2lBO37OQX9nr4AH-6_1Rg8akMHKBlybW4ywiCiIcGi3by2GQQfOcMQU7_IfkDz3jr-2NIgWiHCtnTmJc5zcMcyeWVIv5FCP0Y18/s400/rugged+cross.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;">Ann Voskamp writes,<i><b> "On that Cross, they speared His side and pierced straight into His heart, filled with pain, and it was the water and blood of His broken heart that gushed right out, a flood of love."</b></i> (excerpt from "The</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> Greatest Gift")</span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;">In everything God has done, the motivation has always been love. Love that came not in sparse drips, but in raging and fierce floods. Because we broke God's heart, He opened up the ark, the cradle, and the cross. Because He loves us so much He allowed His holy heart to break in two and make a way for us to draw near.</span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;">It's a tale of tears and timbers from a God of love who cannot deny Himself.</span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for your heart of love for me. Thank you for hurting when I hurt. Thank you for being willing to grieve the loss of your precious Son so that I could be with you forever. Forgive me for thinking that you are an angry God that keeps score of my sins. Let me see the God of love that would flood the earth with water and flood the souls of man with Christ's blood so that we would be saved. From the cradle to the cross nothing can hold you and no expanse is too great to encompass your great love. Let my own tears remind me of all the tears you've shed over me and lift my head to gaze into your eyes of love for me. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.</b></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><i>What about you? What misconceptions have you had about God? Do you see Him as a God of anger or a God of love? Do you believe that God grieves over you and all of creation; that He endured the pain of sending His Son for us because of unfathomable love? How does that change you this Christmas? Will you share?</i></span></div></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><b>GIVEAWAY TIME: </b>To enter the drawing for the "Take Heart: 100 devotions to seeing God when life's not okay," just SUBSCRIBE to my weekly blog (and nothing else). Go to the SUBSCRIBE tab, enter your contact information, <b>and then be sure to check your email. In the confirmation email you will have to CLICK THE ACCOMPANYING LINK to confirm your subscription. </b>You can cancel at any time. You'll automatically be entered. Drawing to be held <b>Dec. 12. Winner will be notified by email. </b>(US and Canada only...sorry).</span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Be blessed...</i></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4oq0VswPdRaWCX4HXOoJ58u4EXJh-b16I193ku1JsS6YaBUhJ_N0Nl8u0Yk763q2CjPUr1EovrANPD5j1D3FKhMA5ZNZkcWpCVuYgyCC7swq_3IqnAEG-DwXWSpETKsyFjctx2r_8dKU/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="250" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4oq0VswPdRaWCX4HXOoJ58u4EXJh-b16I193ku1JsS6YaBUhJ_N0Nl8u0Yk763q2CjPUr1EovrANPD5j1D3FKhMA5ZNZkcWpCVuYgyCC7swq_3IqnAEG-DwXWSpETKsyFjctx2r_8dKU/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /></i></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><i><br /></i></span></div>Bev Rihtarchik - Walking Well With Godhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18225613427007199391noreply@blogger.com0