Revival of Hope-Poem

 

“…If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me as the Scripture has said, “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”  John 7: 37-38

My aspirations are thwarted.

My thirsty heart pants for deliverance.

Hope commences as a trickle of living water.

 A bubbling brook of awareness rises from the wilderness of pain.

My soul is filled with downpours of God’s favor.

He sends rivers of living water into my heart,

Gushing over my parched being,

Surging to life-quickening joy.

Promises from His Word cascade from His throne,

Filling me with the awareness of His sufficient grace

Blessed with the hope of the Lord

Jesus, the living water, has calmed my fears

Now, still waters spread across my emotions.

My spirit is revived,

 

Renewed, refreshed.

Meaningful Prayer

 

“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.  Do not be like them for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” Matthew 6:7-8

In recent years, I have felt there was something lacking in my prayer life, because I did not stop and listen to God while I was praying.  I read the Bible, said my morning prayers, and then went on about my day. We are having Discipleship classes at church, and one chapter deals with having a Quiet Time with God.  Through these lessons God has convicted me of not listening to what He has to say.  I learned the ACTS acronym for prayer a long time ago. A is for Adoration, C for Confession, T for Thanksgiving, and S for Supplication.  When I went to Guatemala on a mission trip this summer, I taught a lesson on prayer at a Women’s Retreat. It included not only adoration, but recognizing the power of God, and petitioning Him for protection from danger and particularly protection from temptation.

I have been a Christian for a long time, but I know I have not shown enough awe of God’s power or prayed enough for protection from sin. I have prayed every day, but it seems, lately, I have realized my prayers have been more about the Ask, Seek, and Knock in Matt. 7:7. I went to God in prayer asking Him to bless everyone, and to give me what I thought I needed. I was asking, but not in the right way. My conversations with God have been mostly one-sided.  When we are young we learn to pray God bless everyone, and please give us what we want.  But now it is time for us to get closer to God in our prayer lives. It is our obligation not only to pray for friends and family, but for our pastors, missionaries, our country, and persecuted Christians around the world. We should also pray for God to give us discernment and opportunities to witness and serve.

Do we really sit still, listen, and know that He is God? (Ps. 46:10) First, it is essential to spend time in prayer, preferably in the morning, but God hears us anytime night or day.  We need to wait for that still small voice in the sound of a “low whisper” as Elijah did. Secondly, our adoration of God usually consists of saying how awesome you are God, but we also need to make it a time of worship and praise.  We should add our gratitude for what He has done for us, and His power over all circumstances in our lives, and the lives of those we love.

We all know we should confess our sins, but do we really objectively look at our lives to see where God wants to change and grow us.  I heard in a Bible study that we should give God permission to show us our sins. It is time as Billy Graham has said to express sorrow over what we have said, thought, or done that is not pleasing to God. Then we must believe He has forgiven us in order to remove any barriers in our communication with Him. Lastly, we need to apply what we are learning. God wants us to share our heart with Him, and He wants to share His heart with us. Journaling is one way to record what God has revealed to us.

Lord, may our prayers be uplifted in a manner acceptable to you.  Let our petitions be given in a humble manner. Lord, we give Your Holy Spirit permission to convict us, and we confess our sin and pray you will cleanse us of all our unrighteousness.  In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

Renewed Love

 

“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”  I Thess. 5: 11

We all love to receive cards, myself included.  I had never had a hobby, but a lady in our SS class asked several of us if we wanted to learn how to make hand-made cards. It has been several years now, and God has transformed my way of thinking about myself as a creative artist. I can now construct a card and write verses in it to inspire and build up others.  In other words, cards are a new way of conveying hope to those in need of encouragement.

At our last card-making class our instructor bought a cake with Happy Stamping 2016 on it. She said she wanted us to pray over our ministry of making and sending cards. One of the women in the class related how she knew of a woman who died at 90 years of age. The minister at her funeral asked for anyone who had received a card from her to raise their hands. Hands went up all over the room. We all agreed we can leave a lasting impression with our cards, too. By assembling these cards, we can fulfill Paul’s admonishment in I Thessalonians 5:11. 

Christmas cards are ones we may keep out for the whole month of December or save them for years. Christmas cards help us remember that God loved us and sent His Son as a baby to later die for our sins. They remind us Jesus is the light of the World, and He was the one worshipped by shepherds and wise men alike. 

Birthday cards let us know someone remembers us on our special day. Someone takes the time to make a card just for us. My daughter always picks just the right card with verses that fit the personality and special characteristics of the receiver. In my case, she knows how to pick a card that makes me feel like the best mom on earth, and the greatest example of a Christian. She adds her own special note which always brings tears of joy to my eyes.

Some of my favorite cards to make are Valentine Cards.  This year I made several cards. One had many layers of cardstock, a heart in the center, and a white lacy edge at the bottom with a pink satin ribbon and bow. We always think of Valentine’s Day being just for our sweethearts, but I think it is a good time to be reminded of God’s love and care for us. My cards this year include this inscription:

 II Coro. 13: 14 “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you…” 

Praying you will recall

That at the heart

Of the matter

Is the love of

God for us all.

 

I’m praying God will put on your heart the desire to use your talents to express His love to everyone you know.  May you bring hope and renewal to all.

A Living Hope

A Living Hope

Teaching is a gift God has given me. The Bible says in I Coro. 12: 28 “And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers…” I do feel called by God to be a teacher.  I taught Bible stories as a summer missionary for Child Evangelism and led children to Christ using the Wordless Book.  Also while I was in high school, I taught children on Sunday nights.  Right after I got married, my husband and I taught the teenage Sunday school class. We had a good group of teens who wanted to learn the Word. One humorous event I remember is one girl called Habakkuk, “Habuga”. She later, learned to say it correctly and came to a saving knowledge of Christ.

 I have always loved to teach and have wanted to motivate students to apply the Word of God to their lives. I taught third through six grade girls for many years. We made the disciples out of toilet tissue tubes and a replica of the temple which came with our SS materials.  I loved those girls and took great pleasure in helping them grow as Christians. My daughter was in my class, and her dad came in some mornings. Those were special times. After my husband died, I changed churches and did not teach for a while. I did teach Vacation Bible School eventually. I remember one girl asking me why I loved Jesus. I told her He is my best friend.  When my former Guidance Counselor asked me to take her class on ESL, I developed an interest in helping people learn English using an ESL book of Mark. I relished working with my two students.  Irena and I became close friends, and she even fixed me Lithuanian meals.

Now I teach VBS in the summers. I always make sure I ask the children if they have Jesus in their hearts. I pray the Holy Spirit will work in their lives. We have a tutoring program at our church. I started to teach an ESL class for the parents of the students who needed help with their homework. I met Lupe and her family through the program, and I have known them now for six years.  I am the adopted grandmother of the family of four children. I take two of them bowling in the summer and to VBS.  Andres, the youngest, asked Jesus to come into his heart when he prayed with me this Christmas while his family was at my house.

Now, I am still teaching the Monday night ESL and one Sunday a month I teach the Karen from Burma. They are precious people who love the Lord. When they pray in their language, I don’t know the words, but I feel God’s presence.

 In Guatemala this past summer, the Women’s Missionary Union held a women’s retreat for the Guatemalan ladies from churches in the area. I taught a lesson on prayer and on Ruth. The ladies touched my life, because they prayed earnest prayers out loud and from the heart. We prayed for several of the ladies who were struggling. We encircled one K’iche’ woman and raised our voices in prayer for her. I know God answers prayer, because of this inspiring example of its power.

 I also had the privilege of doing the last lesson of VBS in Spanish at an Evangelical church in the Dominican Republic.  I asked the children to raise their hands if they wanted to follow Jesus.  About fifteen came up and prayed with me. After I went outside the church, a boy touched me on the arm and put his hand on his heart to let me know he had accepted Christ as his Savior.

How does all this fit in with my theme of butterfly hope and renewal?  God has given me hope that one day I will see many of the ones I have taught in heaven.  Praise God!  I thank Him for allowing me to see these treasured souls come to know Jesus as Lord.

I Peter 1: 3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope…”