Heaven Without the Cross

Snurr made the most interesting comment last night. One that I think most Christians feel. He was saying, " I want to be like Jesus! Except the cross thing, I just want to go to Heaven."

As Christians, we often think that we should have all the blessing with none of the pain. If God allowed His Precious Son to suffer for our good and His glory, before He went to Heaven. Surely we can expect to suffer for our own good and His glory, before we go to Heaven.

Our pastor was just talking about this the other day. I think my little fellow hears more of the sermon than I think. Now if the message God wants him to know will just sink into his heart....

I Will Work Part 1

About a week ago, I was asked to pray about something I didn't have a whole lot of information about. Sometimes that is best. Though I didn't know specifics, I could feel an intense urgency to pray very concentrated. So I let the boys watch a movie and got alone with my Lord.



I felt almost fearful. I poured out my heart to the Lord about the matter and expressed my concern that satan was attacking certain individuals, seeking to destroy them. I felt the Lord reminded me He is sovereign; He is in control. But then I brought up how people can give in and comply with the devil. And my mind envisioned Judas kissing Jesus on the cheek. The answer to this one was from scripture, Isaiah 43:13 "I will work and who shall let it?" Oh, Lord, I prayed, pain may come as I pictured the cross. "Beauty will rise from the ashes." was the answer.



I had to leave my consecrated time but these three statements stayed with me:

1) God is soverign over satan's attacks; He is in control.

2) God will work and who shall let (stop or hinder) it?

3) Beauty will rise from the ashes.



About five days later, we had a guest speaker at church. And his key verse was Isaiah 43:13!! Oh, goosebumps!! Key words from his sermon, " I will work"

(to be continued)

Be Strong and of Good Courage

Recently I was reading Joshua chapter one to Snurr. It captivated me and I needed to study it more alone. There was something hidden in there, a message for me I had to open.

The first truth that stood out to me was when it says, "...the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister.." Moses' minister....He was Moses' right hand man, the man ministered to Moses. I was my husband's right hand helpmeet. I ministered to him in countless ways. Immediately I could identify with Joshua.

The next truth that stood out to me was God told Joshua in verse two "Moses my servant is dead.." Was Joshua (like many of us who grieve) in denial waiting for Moses to come back down off the mountain? Many times my mind had played similar tricks on me, and I have expected to see my husband when I know he won't come back to me, but I can go to him. God lovingly shakes Joshua with the blunt words "Moses is dead." Moses, his close friend, his leader, his mentor, was not coming back. Reality's cold wind on a mourner's face.

Another truth that grabbed my attention was the words following this reality check. "...now therefore arise, go....." Arise means he wasn't standing. Was he bowed down in heavy grief? Did he want to just sit and never get up again? I know I have felt that way numerous times. Arise and go. Go--time for action. God was telling him he had a mission, a purpose for him to fulfill. Go--life seems to end when tragedy strikes, but life is in constant motion. Go there is work to do!

The next verse that spoke to me was verse five. "..as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee." Wow! This reminded me that the same God that was with my husband to lead this family, is with me to lead this family. That is great comfort! God assured Joshua he will not leave him or let him down. He would be with him every step of the way. And so is God with me. What comfort!

Then we get into the more well known portions of scripture. "Be strong and of good courage." This was told to Joshua in verses six, seven, nine, and just in case he forgot verse eighteen. Now, I used to always think of Joshua as a great military man, fearless and strong. If he was so mighty, so confident, why would God have to tell him this four times? I think Joshua was like you and me. He had fears, he battled discouragement, and he felt overwhelmed. He had doubts.

Again God tells him, "...for the LORD thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest." Again he would be with him all the way.


God is so gracious and loving. He doesn't just say be strong and of good courage, He gave a road map to Joshua how to be prosperous. Joshua 1:7-8 "Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper withersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."

So my road map is similar: Read and meditate on the Word of God morning and evening. Then do what I understood it to mean. Don't turn away from it! Speak God's Word! And do it! And I shall have good success.

Around the time I was studying this passage, Snapp's devotion book compared physical needs of the body with spiritual needs of the spirit. The body needs healthy food; the spirit needs fed from God's Word. The body needs exercise; the spirit needs to exercise doing what was read in God's Word. The body needs rest; the spirit needs times of rest whey you get alone and commune with God. So simple, but great food for thought:)

So be strong and of good courage, my friend. The God of Joshua is the same God of today.

Joy of the Lord is Our Strength

A couple months ago, our pastor called up one of my boys to use him in an illustration in his sermon. This particular son has struggled often with being in front of others. To the point of tears at times. For several minutes, he was up in front of the congregation. I could tell he was very, very nervous, but he controlled himself. No tears. He spoke honestly when asked questions and kept his eyes on me. I mean glued to me. I smiled at him, kept nodding my head, and encouraging him with my facial expressions. He was looking to me as his source of strength and I didn't want to let him down.


It reminded me of Peter walking on water as long as he had his eyes on the Saviour. I am a visual source of strength for these children, just like my husband used to be for me. My son seeing me smiling and making faces, that "joy" was my son's strength. God said in Nehemiah 8:10 "for the joy of the LORD is your strength." Does God have delight on His face when we look to Him? Is He smiling at us? Is He encouraging us being our strength? Absolutely!!! Zephaniah 3:17 "The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing."

Psalm 79:11

Once again I was reading through my husband's Bible and I found a verse circled I hadn't noticed before. Psalm 79:11 says "Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die;"

Now the words "appointed to die" leaped out at me because of Hebrews 9:27 "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:" is the verse the Lord gave me when I first started this journey of widowhood. I asked Him to give me a verse, a solid answer from His Word to answer the boys' question of "why" concerning their father's death. The simple answer is "it was his appointed time to die." His time to go to Heaven to Jesus.

Anyway, I read the verse in Psalms again. I longed to ask my husband why he had circled this verse. My mind began to wonder and ponder and think thoughts the mind can think late at night. I searched the cross reference that lead me to Psalm 102:20. It says "To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death." Okay, like to set free those that are on death row.

The next morning the verse stayed with me and I longed to talk it over with my husband, but as I looked at his picture his lips were sweetly silent. I read my Bible in the quiet hours of the morning and then read something I had set aside weeks ago.

It was The Persecuted Church Global Report 2010 from The Voice of the Martyrs and on page 11 was the verse I had read in my husband's Bible the night before! Psalm 79:11!!! Now it makes perfect sense for it to be in there, but I didn't read the report to look for the verse. Are you getting this? This is how God works in my life.....same verse in less than 24 hours. God is trying to tell me something.

54 nations are classified as restricted and hostile toward Christians. 54 nations!!! In these nations, this blog would cause me to be arrested! Teaching my children about Jesus, praying with a friend on the phone, having a Bible in my purse, going to church, sharing notes from a ladies Bible study, and other normal things to us American Christians are illegal or greatly discouraged in 54 nations of this world! Go to http://www.persecution.com/ and see for yourself.

Jim's dad encouraged me to read Tortured for Christ by Richard Wurmbrand, founder of VOM. He spent over fourteen years in Communist prisons. The man knows what he is talking about. Wow! There is a eye-opening book, not that I recommend reading it right before you sleep though.

In his book, Wurmbrand gives a challenge or charge to us Christians in the free world. The first is to live a life of faith with fellowship with the invisible God. We need to be leading lives of consistent Christians, lives of sacrifice. (This is something my preacher has been trying to get us to understand for quite awhile now.) Wumbrand goes on to encourage us to protest publicly as often as Christians are persecuted. He asks us to pray for the persecutors that they maybe saved, to send Bibles, support our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ financially so they can keep sharing the gospel, and to assist the families of martyrs. And last but not least, to pray, pray, pray for persecuted Christians. Let them know we remember them. http://www.prisoneralert.com/

Another challenge I want to give you is to share with your children what is happening in these other nations. http://www.kidsofcourage.com/ is a great site for kids. It is informative about kids in persecuted countries, their way of life, and language. The newsletters are great, ideal for homeschoolers. Sharing this with your kids does several things. First, it makes them see how privileged they are living in a free nation. It alerts them to others who need prayer. It also alerts them to what the future holds.

Late Night Surprise

One night at 2am Little Snurr came into my room complaining of pain. The pain seemed to move around for awhile, then he finally decided it was in his ear. So we went down stairs to do my regular treatment, warm olive oil infused with garlic oil and warm compress. As we waited for Mr. Ouie-Bear to warm up (He has beans in him) we chatted quietly.

Suddenly our chocolate lab bristled up and growled fiercely out the window. I jumped as did Snurr. We investigated and saw an interesting sight. A beautiful doe was in our driveway. It walked around the yard for awhile. We moved to different windows as needed to keep watching it for the next 10 minutes. Snurr forgot all about his earache by this time.After it left, we looked back where we first saw it and there was another deer! The second doe ran quickly up the drive and disappeared into the night.

By this time our warm compress a.k.a. Mr. Ouie-Bear was all warmed up. We headed back up to bed with smiles. It was a special moment just the two of us had shared and we couldn't wait till morning to share it with Snipp and Snapp. Cuddles with Mama and Mr. Ouie-Bear lulled Snurr to sleep and I got to ponder the timing of my Lord yet again.

"God doesn't waste pain." A woman named Barb said those words even though she knew she was dying of cancer. It is a powerful truth! Snurr's pain was not wasted. We were given a precious memory. This pain of widowhood isn't wasted either. It unites me with others who I can encourage on the way. It causes me to be more sensitive and mindful of fleeting moments.

"God's timing is perfect." Another quote I was told and one I believe with all my heart. Snurr's earache was perfectly timed for us to see the deer. I know of a man who was terminated from his job at the same time another and better job became available. A friend's coworker/friend died suddenly and her husband was in between jobs at that perfect time. He was able to give her the extra tenderness she needed. Someone was laid on my heart on a certain day, so I prayed. Later I find out an unexpected and interesting conversation happened that day.

Earlier this week, Snipp's devotional had this scripture in it:

Isaiah 55:8-9
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts"

Isn't that the truth!! So why do I think I can figure out what He is doing in my life? It all comes back to trusting my Heavenly Father to know what is best for me. To just keeping doing the last thing He told me to till He gives me my next instructions.