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 Can God Really Forget?
I tried to reason how a perfect omniscient God could forget anything. It didn't make sense to me... until I experienced it.
God's Mirror
I assumed that God was as "hard" on me as I was on myself. One night, in a conversation with my son, I saw a "mirror" of myself as God sees me.
The Purpose of Pain
I am not suggesting that God is a "child abuser" and intentionally hurts his children, but the fact is that there are times when we hurt.
Pain is Pain
I heard these words form in my mind, "Man, if that's all that is wrong with you, you're having a good day!" Immediately, I heard another voice inside of me. God's words were simple. He said, "Randall, pain is pain.
A Father's Love
Do not hesitate! Just open your heart and your mouth and tell Him how much You love Him. Then listen closely in your heart, and you too may hear Him say, "You are my dear child, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." ...because He is."
Had it not been for a woman that was willing to pray for a hopeless man, take a risk, and speak her "heart" to me, this ministry would not exist today. Most likely, I would not exist today either.
Two years later, Rosemarie and I were married. Within three, I was holding her hand as she breathed her last breath.
The "chance" encounter
Make the most of every opportunity. You may never know the lives you are impacting if you do. But I can say with certainty that you will likely never know the lives you could have impacted if you do not.
Are you the "hunter" or the "hunted"?
Stan was a U.S. Navy SEAL during the Vietnam War. He volunteered to go. His reason:
"I knew I would have to go, regardless, but if I had a choice in how I fought, I wanted to be the "hunter" and not the "hunted".
The "Other" Economy
In the challenges in your life, you have a choice how you will respond. You can "throw away" a wonderful opportunity to acquire some real treasure of eternal value, or you can go for the "short term gain".
Consider the next challenge you face in life as an "investment opportunity" in that "other" economy. The "returns" are out of this world!
He Never Knew
I knew that if my son had found the ball ruined, he would have brought it to me and, in his simple child's trust in his father, a trust that KNEW dad could do anything, he would have asked me to fix the ball. So, even before he asked me, I answered him.
The Lesson of the Moss Garden
The very tops of the trees would begin to sway back and forth in a slow graceful dance, as if they were rejoicing and saying, "It's here! It's here! Everyone enjoy!"
Move over, "Indiana"!
While many today would not worship a literal "touchable" three-dimensional image, they would, in some cases, sacrifice almost anything for their "image".
So, you think you are the only one?
There are the questions: "Why is this happening to me?" "What did I do?" "God, why don't you DO something?" "God, HELP ME!"
But there seems to be no answer. After that comes a mindset of utter hopelessness and defeat. Finally, all hope of overcoming the circumstances is abandoned.
I know. I have been there. If you have been there, you know too. You may be there now.
Rejected by God!
A subscriber writes: "I hurt so much to think I am not worth anything to God. I USED TO believe it was for everyone... I don't any longer."
Read the moving response in this message.
A Better Mousetrap?
I caught the mouse. I know the nature of mice. The mouse did not know my nature or what I would do. I then set another trap, awaiting the next one.
This is no different than the trap laid by the enemy of our souls to catch us and destroy us spiritually.
A Special Easter Message
We read the words on the pages of the Bible and, while it is real to many of us, it can easily become so sterile, so matter-of-fact, so "clean".
Because it was a long time ago, it can feel so far removed from reality.
A Christmas Message:
(The Rest Of) The Christmas Story
We usually think of the Christmas story in terms of Jesus as a baby in
a manger, with Mary and Joseph, Magi (wise men), shepherds, and
angels, in Bethlehem.
But that is not the whole story. In fact, that is not even the beginning of
the story.
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If Jesus had a dog...
A unique perspective on racial prejudice and hatred. You will just have to read this one for yourself. No explanation could justify it.
The Most Important Thing
Do not spend precious time regretting the past. Understand its place in your life. Your past is what it took to get you where you are today. That is its value.
Is your answer on the roof?
Sometimes, when I ask God to "fix" something for me, He waits. I couldn't climb onto the roof of a house at six, but I could at twenty. I look at the hammer and remember that, sometimes, the answer to my prayer is not denied or forgotten, it is just "on the roof", waiting for me to find it when I am ready.
My God, why have you forsaken me?
Anyone that has been a Believer for any length of time has felt the hopelessness, pain, loneliness, and despair that comes from the feeling that God has forsaken them.
But I can still touch bottom...
My brother and I almost died that day. It seemed all right to me, but I was not paying attention to where the current was taking us.
I bought your lunch
At lunch, a friend asked, "What does it mean to 'get saved'?"
I explained the "usual" answer from Scripture, but he needed more. So I showed him an example of the atonement sacrifice of Jesus in our lunch.
Not now. I'm unbusy.
Busy people know the feeling of having too much to do and too little time in which to do it.
They go on, and today becomes just like yesterday, and nothing changes. So, what is the solution?
I Will Not Quit!
"Endure" is one of those words that has no real meaning, no practical application, no "identity" to a person who has never had to "endure".
People can understand the definition in the dictionary, but have no real understanding of the feeling, the emotion, the pain, and the utter hopelessness of seeing no way out of the circumstances they face.
Alone in the dark
"...weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." (Psa 30:5)
The "dark" will not last forever. After every dark night, there comes a new morning. It will come. Father promised.
How many of you are here?
Sometimes those relationships are painful, too painful to acknowledge. They feel that the cost of applying themselves in that relationship is just too great. And sometimes it is.
Reflections
If you have ever struggled with the conflict of how some people can claim to be Christians and yet do such hurtful things to others, you need to read this "One Minute Message"
Pumpkins and Pears
If you have ever been in the middle of one of those "light and momentary troubles", and someone calls it a "light and momentary trouble", your feeling might be somewhat akin to wanting to slap them three ways -- hard, fast, and continuously!
In the end, it comes down to a matter of perspective.
D.L.E.
Do not attempt to look up "D.L.E." You will not find it. It is a term I "coined" for events that disrupted my life to the point that it was not the same anymore, nor would it ever be the same again.
If you have never experienced a D.L.E., then this message has no meaning for you. But if you are in one now, this message may be your "life line".
You don't need baggage at home
I would ask if you have ever promised something to God, then the next week, next day, or next MINUTE, failed in that promise, but then, everyone has at some point, so why ask? (Right now, just as I am, you are probably thinking about the many times that has happened.)
If that describes your life, you need to read this message of hope and restoration.
The Power of a Ditch
One of the most important lesson I have learned from cycling (and I learned it the hard way!) is that ditches are magnetic! Just ask any bike rider! They seem to have a "pull" that will attract you to them and "pull" you into them!
I wondered for years why this happened. Then, I had a "B.G.O.". (That is, a "Blinding Glimpse of the Obvious".)
I've learned to stumble better
Next time, when (not if) you fall (or fail), do not give up. Falling is just part of growing up. Reach out to God and let Him help you get back up to try again. You will go farther and be stronger next time.
"9/11" Memorial Message
...the pain of loss does not fade so quickly as the heat of compassion.
Remember that the wounded and hurting are not limited to New York and Washington D.C. There are wounded and hurting people all around you, perhaps, even sitting next to you this morning.
Sowing and... waiting?
Remember: Your ONLY responsibility is to sow the seed. You cannot cause the seed to germinate. You cannot create the harvest. You are not able or equipped. You can only sow the seed.
Just do your job. Sow the seed. The rest is up to Him.
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