Prayer Power!

I was working on my next bible study again.  Chapter 12 in Acts.  It was about Peter’s 1^st release from prison.  A group of Christians prayed, and an angel rescued Peter.   As I was reading and praying and writing I began thinking more about prayer.  

Prayer works, faith works.  Prayer brings peace.  If someone asks me why I am so sure God is real, I would have to say, first and foremost, because of prayer.  God answers.  He may say ‘no’ or ‘just be patient’, but he does answer.  Sometimes I have received answers that are just too crazy to be a coincidence.  When my husband and I were still engaged, we ordered several items for the wedding online at different times.  These orders were made on different days spanning a few weeks and ordered from different sellers at different locations.  One night I prayed and poured my heart to God, asking him if this marriage was really what he wanted for me, if it was his will or my own.  The next morning, the very next morning, the doorbell rang, and when I opened the door I was greeted with a pile of boxes.  Everything we had ordered, everything, was sitting on the door step.  Every item ordered on every different day, from every location had arrived all at once.  I stood there for a moment staring at the pile of boxes, I recalled my prayer of the night before and said, “Okay, God, I get it.”  The relationship I have with God is why I know for sure that the bible is real and God is real.  Everything stated in the bible has been true, I can see it in my life and the lives of others.  It would be like asking me if my father was real. 

God is there.  Prayer works.  Peter’s story is a prime example of the power of prayer.  What answers to prayer have you seen in your life?  What clear evidence have you seen, or think you may have seen, that God is here with us every day?  Please leave discussion comments so we can talk about it!  That will be awesome to see everyone’s prayer testimonies!

Philippians 4:6-7  Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.  His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Unlikely Sources

I was writing in my next installment of the Our Legacy series (this one is Acts).  I am currently writing about Saul.  What came out as I wrote the reflection of Saul's conversion is that God really does like to use unlikely people to do great things.  He used Moses (a guy who is repelled by the thought of public speaking) to go before Pharaoh and release all the Hebrews.  He use little Mary to be the mother of Christ.  He used tax collectors as disciples.  He used fishermen to spread his word and do miracles in his name.  He used a man (Saul) who's hobby was to imprison and kill Christ's followers to grow his kingdom leaps and bounds.  All of these people obeyed God when called to do a job.

Every little problem and trial we face grows and changes us.  Our life circumstances shape who we are.  God uses these shapings we receive to grow us into people who do great things for God's kingdom!  What have you learned from your problems and trials?  What new knowledge have you gained?  What is God preparing you for?  How will He use you?  The biggest question of all.... are you going to listen when He calls?

Romans 5:3,4

"We can rejoice to, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.  And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation."  (NLT)

What a Day!!!!

Right now, this very moment, I am sitting in my little office on the second floor of my house.  It is a small room, so the two windows more or less cover one entire wall.  The windows are open wide.  I am listening to all the morning bird songs.  It amazes me!  There are so many different bird sounds right outside my one little window.  Tweet tweet tweet, chirp, squeak, trill, oooaaa, whoo wa’ hoo hoo hoo, yayaya, and several that I cannot even begin to imitate with the letters of our language.  We were not given letters and words that can truly convey the beauty of God’s creation. 

By many standards this hasn’t been the greatest week.  I am dueling with some weird blood sugar issue, I have somehow gotten lung congestion in the middle in the summer (I have asthma and had pneumonia last year – not good), the dog got sprayed by a skunk and ran into the house for sympathy (nough said), one of my cats is missing, and summer is over for me and the school year is beginning (as a matter of fact I really should be getting ready to go right now)…

But all I can see and feel are the blessings of the morning!  The gentle sunlight is streaming through my little eastern windows.  The birds are chirping and strumming and giving me the most amazing and beautiful personal concert to bless my day!  No one but God and I can hear this particular concert.  It is just for us and the birds (and my sweet little puppy on my feet, and I suppose the stinky dog out on the deck…).  My rooster just joined the happy chatter outside.  The sun just rose a little higher and filled my room with light!  The owl hasn’t went to bed yet, so amazing so beautiful!  The light and trees outside my window are creating a picturesque reflection on my computer screen.  A light morning breeze has just began sliding gently through the window screens.

Now I ask you, no matter what is waiting for me today – be it stinky dogs or breathing problems – how can I be sad?  How can I be downcast?  How can I be discouraged when God has given us this beautiful world!  God has blessed us so generously, God is SO amazing.  His world is SO amazing!  There is nothing to fret or worry about, nothing can get in the way of the joy of this morning.  It will be a fabulous day!

Psalm 118:24 

This is the day the Lord has made.  We will rejoice and be glad in it.

P.S.  I wrote this entry this morning.  Since then, my health has improved greatly, my cat has returned, and my dog doesn't stink very much anymore!  God is great!  What a wonderful day!

Our Legacy

Last November I posted a poem entitled Legacy.  I also wrote an article for Ruby for Women about the importance of raising our kids with a legacy of faith and a relationship with God.  Here is an abridged version of that article:

What do we want to give our children? We have many hopes and dreams for them. That they are more successful than we are, that they are more skilled. That they have faith, friends, and love. We want them to make good grades, have a sense of humor, be hardworking, honest, kind, forgiving. We want them to know how to cook and clean and be self-sufficient, manage their money, be responsible. If you can’t home-school – which we can’t because we cannot afford to not work – how do you do it all – how do you find the time to pass all the important things down to the next generation? It is all important.

I used to get discouraged at how to teach my kids to become adults. I used to worry that they were not ‘involved’ in enough things. I don’t worry anymore. I sat down one day and thought, where to start, what is the most important thing I can pass to them? If I were to die before they are grown, what do I want them to remember? FAITH! God is the most important. None of that other stuff even matters in the face of salvation!!!! (And yet a lot of that stuff will come along with a true faith.)

I grew up believing in God. I grew up knowing all about heaven and how to get there. I still did not read my bible. I would leaf through it occasionally, maybe read a verse here and there; I would pray ‘pretty much’ daily. We went to church, usually. I didn’t even know about tithing. I went through a rough time when I was around 30 and I FOUND my bible; I began my TRUE faith walk. And it has grown and grown and grown and grown some more.

I don’t want my kids to wait until they are 30 to learn the truths of the bible. I don’t want them to wait until they are 32 to know exactly how God wants them to live their lives. I don’t want them to wait until they are 36 to walk hand in hand with Jesus wherever they go. Think of what this kind of faith will mean as they go through their lives! They need it to make choices in high school. They need God to choose a spouse. Most of all, if Jesus comes tomorrow, they need their faith to LIVE.

The most important thing we can give our kids as a gift or legacy is FAITH. And the biggest part of passing them faith is the bible. Matthew 4:4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”NLT Jesus himself quoted that from Deuteronomy 8:3, when he fought off the devil’s temptations. We all want our kids to have the weapon to fight off Satan! You teach them the bible, you show them how to apply it through examples in your own life and whenever you can in their lives. You show them how important they are, and how important time in God’s word is by investing time in them all! Give them the tools through bible study. Show them how to use those tools in life by using them yourself!

Just what would your life be like if you had started your true faith, your personal walk with God, your close relationship with Jesus, and the constant company of the Holy Spirit in your early teens? How would it be different than it is now? What would God have used you for if you were listening to his voice way back then…? That is the legacy we should strive to leave for our kids. That is the legacy that will truly give them a life of peace, and joy, and happiness. That is THE LEGACY! The only one worth having.

Those were my thoughts last fall... and so... I wrote a book.

Our Legacy: Bringing Families Together with God (Volume 1) is like lesson plans for the gospels. Each lesson includes a reading, questions, a reflection on the passage (to further explain and apply the passage), activities to help retention and understanding and life application, and a prayer. I wrote this book to help God's word become an integral part of our lives and spread God's word as far as I possibly could. This book is a compiles the gospels, so you are reading the same bit of history from each gospel at the same time from each gospel author's perspective. Volume 1 (the beginning of the gospels through Jesus's walk on water) is available now, and Volume 2 (the water walk through Jesus's ascension) is currently in the printing process and should be available by Christmas. I am currently working in Acts.

Here is the link to my book:

https://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=9781681428994

or you can contact me directly at angkev07@gmail.com.

https://youtu.be/GPKxo5RJDzg

I hope you enjoy it and pray that it will bring a blessing to your lives!

Persecution

Have you ever been persecuted for your faith?  Has anyone picked on you, put you down, or criticized you for your relationship with Jesus?  Have you been abused or beaten because you love the Lord?

Persecution seems like a terrible word.  It sounds evil and hurtful.  Persecution is generally feared.

Living my life in small town Nebraska, I have rarely felt the sting of persecution for my faith.  But one day my husband informed me that his ex-wife had said we should not be ‘pushing the religion thing so hard’ where their daughters were concerned.  At first I was confused, ‘that’s our job’ I thought.  Not in the exact words of ‘pushing religion’, but God expects us to teach and instruct our kids in his ways.  And the girls love to pass that instruction on to their mom’s side of the family.  Then the thought occurred to me … ‘we were persecuted!’  Now, I do realize this is a very, very, minor form of persecution – but persecution can be named.  And do you know what?  It didn’t sting, it didn’t hurt, and it didn’t bother me a bit.  In fact, it felt amazing!  It was awesome to have it confirmed that our faith (and our daughter’s faith) shows so much that I was told to quit.  Wow, I thought, I really must be doing something right!  In Acts 5:40 the apostles were beaten and told not to speak in the name of Jesus ever again.  Acts 5:41 says “The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus” Wow!  They were excited!  They were excited because the persecution told them they were doing their job well.  Persecution is not to be feared.

If you are persecuted for your faith…  

WELL DONE! 

God is proud of you.

Goats and Forgivenss

My husband wants to raise goats.  I do not like the way livestock (farm animals) ties you down.  If you have livestock you are tied to you home, every outing has to be weighed with feeding times and other chores.  So one day last month my husband wanted to go to an auction of goats, sheep, and other small livestock, just to get an idea of start-up costs.  I said “Fine, have fun, but do not buy any goats.”  He climbs in his truck.  “I won’t buy any goats.”  We exchanged hugs, love yous, and a kiss, and he drove away.  As his truck rolls away from me I shout after him, “Don’t buy any goats!”  

The sale was a couple of hours away, so I knew he would be getting home late.  The kids and I watched a movie, I put them to bed and went to bed myself.  A while later I heard the truck return, but no Kevin came in the house.  I waited longer, still no Kevin.  As I am laying there, I began to seethe.  The phrase – he bought goats – kept running through my mind.  Soon I hear him come in the door and immediately leave the house again.  He bought goats.  A little bit later I heard a sound not original to our little ‘farm’.  The distinctive bleat of a small goat.  He bought goats!  I was angry.  That was an understatement.  I was livid.  After an entire discussion of cash flow and time, not to mention a promise not to buy goats, he bought goats!  I know myself well enough to know that I am unreasonable after 9:00 p.m., so this was not the time to discuss the issue, and I knew there would be a reason (valid at least in his own thought process).  I feigned sleep.  Soon Kevin came in and went to bed; with much prayer, I continued to ‘sleep’.  The next morning, I got out of bed – he bought goats-.  I put on my shoes – he bought goats-.  I walked into the early morning sun – he bought goats-.  I slogged my way across the yard – he bought goats-.  My anger had not diminished much – he bought goats – but I was willing to hear his reasoning – he bought goats.  I opened the door to the chicken house knowing that any livestock would be stashed in the unused half of the chicken house turned barn – he bought goats!  And I saw this…

 

I forgave him.  Not just because the animals are cute – but because that is what God wants us to do.  My husband has a fault of getting livestock without discussing it first.  But God says to:

“Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others”.  Colossians 3:13 NLT

Where would we be if we could not forgive?  What kind of miserable lives would we have if we could not let go and forgive.  I could have remained angry.  What would that have accomplished?  Would I still have goats in my barn?  I could have sulked and moped all day, I could have thrown a fit.  What would that accomplish?   Those choices would lead to my husband not being treated like an adult, my kids tiptoeing around us, and all of us being miserable.  My other choice – God’s choice – was to forgive and be happy.  Satan uses our unwillingness to forgive to put iron in our hearts, to harden them against God’s grace.  The verse above says “Remember, the Lord forgave you,”.  Are we above the Lord, thinking we are too good to forgive?  Un-forgiveness is like a festering wound, it causes pain all around, it poisons, and it can even cause death.  As gangrene causes physical death, un-forgiveness can lead to spiritual death.  Forgiving can be hard, but all good and worth-while things are difficult.

“Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others”.  Colossians 3:13 NLT

Satan, Go Away

I was visiting with my niece and her husband last night.  He just got a promotion at work.  He is now the Junior High Pastor at the church he works at.  He said the email about his new position went out to everyone at the church, a colleague came up to him and told him to watch out, because he is moving up his work for God, he should expect some new attacks from Satan trying to stop that work.  I know I have touched on this topic before, but this really hit me.  He went on to tell us that someone remembered that very day (before reading the email) – and reported to a superior – that a parent had complained about him two months ago.  This did not hurt his job, as far as getting into trouble – no one can make everyone happy (especially with Satan around) – but it caused him distress.  Satan was out and whispering – trying to distract, upset, and derail – doing whatever he can to stop his work for God.

That is so true and so worth keeping fresh in your mind.  When things go wrong, perhaps God has a big job for you to do and Satan is out there, doing his best to put a stop to it.  I just published a bible study.  It covers all the gospels, blended together, and is a study for families that leads from a scripture reading, comprehension of the text, through application to lives.  Satan has tried to but his smelly head into the mix over and over.  One day I thought, this book must be really important, or Satan wouldn’t care what I am doing.  If you are working for God, Satan is after you!  Be strong.  Be excited things to wrong, be excited when there are whispers against you – don’t create them, but be excited – because when Satan is working against you – God must have something big for you!

Matthew 16: 21 – 23 --- From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead.  But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!”  Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”

My grandmother has a cartoon on her bulletin board depicting slipper clad feet on a rug by a bed.  The caption reads “Live your life so that when your feet hit the floor, Satan says ‘Oh crap, she’s awake!’ “

 

Here is a link to my book, it is called

Our Legacy: Bringing Families Together with God (Volume 1)https://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=9781681428994