Sunday, November 30, 2003
Do you know of anyone who thinks you are crazy because of your faith? Do your family and relatives and some friends think you have lost your mind because of the things you do (or don’t do) because of your faith?
I am sure there are those who think that of me. How many people leave family and friends to go to a foreign land at this age to help start a new ministry? But, I know that it is much more important to obey God than to worry about what others may say.
The other day, I pulled out a CD I hadn’t listened to for a long time. One song talked about the servant being no greater than his master. I thought about that and was reminded that Jesus’ family thought He was crazy too. (See Mark 3:21) So why should it surprise us when others think that of us. Why do we think that we will have an easy life with no opposition when our Lord and Savior had lots of it?
If you are ready to give up because of opposition or because of what people say of you, remember how much Christ was opposed and hang in there. One day, all those who oppose us will realize that we can do nothing less than follow our Lord wherever He leads us.
-Ardis Rivera
-Rom 8:38-39 NIV
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Saturday November 29th, 2003
If you’re faithful in the little things, God is faithful with the “big” things. And He’s faithful EVERY day!
-Garrett Novak
Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father
There is no shadow of turning with thee
Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be
Great is Thy faithfulness, great is Thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed, Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me
Thomas O. Chisolm (1923)
-Lam 3:22-23 NIV
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
Friday, November 28, 2003
Love, the emotion that has been the inspiration for thousands of songs, plays, movies, poems and stories. The thing about love though is that it must be more than an emotion because emotions are ever changing. Love is a commitment and an action. Enduring, persevering, long-lasting, eternal, faithful.
Not to be used for personal gain or advantage, love is for the other person. You do benefit when you love someone else but love should not be given simply to receive a benefit. True love is just that, TRUE.
-John Roe
-Romans 12:9
Love must be sincere.
Thursday, November 27, 2003
Thanksgiving needs to be an attitude, not just a day on the calendar set aside for turkey and football. Really take time to count your blessings and express thankfulness to the Lord. After listing all of the good things that God has done for you then start on the other list. The list of the things that didn’t, or maybe still don’t look like blessings. The hard times, the broken relationships, the illness that you or a family member may be experiencing. Begin to be thankful for God’s provision in all of these things and recognize His faithfulness to you, even in times when you have doubted Him.
One more thing that you should consider is giving thanks for other people. Not just family and friends but the others in your church and in your social circle. The people that plow the snow, the police and firemen in your community, the grocery clerks, your barber…and the list just goes on and on. Don’t forget your pastors, past and present, and others that have influenced you spiritually.
Thanksgiving, let it be an attitude!
-John Roe
-Ephesians 1:15
“For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and about your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.”
Wednesday, November 26, 2003
Impossible! Over the years there have been many things that people thought were impossible that now are common place. Running the four-minute mile, putting a man on the moon, instant communication around the world ….. once thought impossible, but now everyday occurrences.
There is still one thing that is impossible and will always remain impossible.
Without faith it is impossible to please God. Hebrews 11:6
-John Roe
Tuesday, November 25, 2003
In this day of self-centered thinking and living, most people really don’t care what other people believe about the life, death and eternity. How could they when they think only of themselves? Strangely enough God cares about peoples lives, death and eternity because He is not self-centered in His thinking or living. God really loves people and for this I am thankful!
-Lyn Sahr
-1 John 4:16-21 NIV
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17 In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
Monday, November 24, 2003
When God opens up the heavens on Minnesota this time of the year we get snow. Yesterday we received from 4-12 inches of snow; depending on what part of the state you were in. The ground was brown and ugly before the snow and after the snow it was white and beautiful like the finest Christmas card. How fitting that it would have such an appearance of the season we associate with the birth of the Christ child. When we put our faith in the one God sent so long ago to be born in Bethlehem, we are forgiven and our hearts become white like snow and that old ugly sin is erased and forgotten.
For this I am thankful.
-Lyn Sahr
-Isa 1:18 NIV
“Come now, let us reason together,”
says the LORD.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
Sunday, November 23, 2003
The other day I was working on a long project for the ministry and decided I needed a break and went to the store for a few groceries. I saw something that caught my attention—a store flying the Mexican flag. I wondered why and then I realized that I am living in Mexico.
Now, I am aware of that fact, but this is home now and I don’t really think of it as living in another country. But my citizenship is in the United States, and if I were eligible for the draft, in the case of a national emergency, I could be called up to serve, no matter where I happen to be living. That is because my citizenship is in the United States. It doesn’t matter if I content living here. If my country decides it needs me, I am obliged to serve.
As Christians, our citizenship is in heaven. We are presently living as strangers and aliens in a foreign land. But too many of us are comfortable where we are, and we forget that we are called to fight for our real country. Is the call going out, looking for able soldiers? Are you listening to the call? Or are you so comfortable in this “foreign land” that you are hoping that the Commander in Chief won’t know where you are. He does know where you are and He is calling. Will you stand up and fight with your Commander?
-Ardis Rivera
-Philippians 3:20-21 NIV
But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
-Eph 2:19-22 NKJV
Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Saturday November 22nd, 2003
One night this week we had a crisis in our family, or actually, I did. While picking up my oldest daughter after practice, my nine-year-old daughter accidentally kicked my cell phone out the door of our mini-van. We didn’t discover it was missing until a few minutes later, and when we returned to the school it was gone. I immediately went into “crisis” mode and raised my voice at my daughter, whose eyes filled with tears.
After a few minutes (in which I realized hadn’t been one of my finest “dad” moments), I apologized to my daughter, and we spent a few minutes in our van praying together. I prayed for forgiveness and that he would help us find the phone. We had planned to stop and pick-up a pizza on the way home, and when we arrived there, a note from my wife waited for us. “Someone found your phone and called the numbers in memory to find out whose it was,” she said. Prayer answered, thank-you Lord.
I’m thankful today that I serve a God who doesn’t turn his back on me when I mess up, I’m thankful that my daughter realizes that her Dad is human, and makes mistakes, and I’m thankful for the words “I’m sorry.” Is there someone in your life you need to say, “I’m sorry” to today?
-Garrett Novak
-1 John 1:9-10 NIV
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Friday, November 21, 2003
As we approach the week of Thanksgiving I am once again reminded of how blessed we are for the grace of God. Grace is often defined as “unmerited favor” and certainly God’s grace is the umbrella of peace we live under. But in that grace I am reminded of the great debt that each believer owes, a debt that couldn’t be paid individually. And that is the debt of our sin that Jesus paid for us when He shed his blood and died for each of us on Calvary. This year I would encourage you to bring God into your Thanksgiving by being thankful for His grace. Without it we have nothing to be thankful for and with it, as the Lord said to the Apostle Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you!”
-Lyn Sahr
-2 Cor 12:7-10 NIV
To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Thursday, November 20, 2003
Faithfulness is not about what you do but rather who you are!
-Lyn Sahr
-Prov 3:3-6 NIV
Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man.
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Wednesday, November 19, 2003
God is not a “fair-weather friend.” Too often when the storms come in our lives we stand out in the misery as if we were alone. God doesn’t melt in the heat, He doesn’t freeze in the cold and He doesn’t float away in the rain. He is the God who is our friend in all seasons and all conditions.
-Lyn Sahr
-Job 16:20-21 NIV
My intercessor is my friend
as my eyes pour out tears to God;
21 on behalf of a man he pleads with God
as a man pleads for his friend.
Tuesday, November 18, 2003
There is an old saying that says, “It takes two to make a marriage work.” If that were true, there would be few if any divorces because every marriage has two people. Of course, both of those people have to work at a marriage to make it successful but even then marriages crumble. The fact is that it takes three to make a marriage work: a man, a woman and God!
When couples join hands and make say their vows, they have a legal marriage. When couples join hands with God and say their vows, they have a spiritual marriage. The former being a contract, the later being a commitment. Legal contracts are signed in ink; spiritual commitments are signed in love!
-Lyn Sahr
-Heb 13:20-21 NIV
May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Monday, November 17, 2003
I stand in awe at the works of God’s hands in the life of faithful people. Today we underestimate the spiritual value of being faithful. Too bad so many churches have abandoned the old hymns because young believers fail to hear and sing the testimony of the saints in worship such as “Great is Thy Faithfulness” written by Thomas Chisholm in 1923. Read his testimony of song and be blessed.
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.
Refrain
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
Refrain
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!
Refrain
-Lyn Sahr
Sunday, November 16, 2003
Just the other day, I finished reading a book about a comedian that I really liked. After reading the book, I was thinking that it would have been better to not have read the book. I found out that this man was not very nice to many of the people that worked for him and had many, many problems. It would have been nice to keep thinking that he was as wonderful in his personal life as he appeared on TV.
As I considered my feelings, and almost having a feeling of being deceived, I realized that it is easy to look at another person, whether famous or not, and have a certain perception of that person. It is easy to look at the pastor, the missionary, the church leaders, and somehow expect them to be perfect. But the fact is that only one person has ever lived who was perfect, and that person is Jesus. We need to remember this when we realize that a person we respect fails us in one way or another. I’m not saying that we are not responsible for our actions and that we shouldn’t strive to be good examples of what it means to be a Christian. But no one is perfect, except Jesus. So, when you discover that fact about someone, don’t be too hard on him or her. Remember that we are all striving to be like our leader, who is Jesus Christ. And we won’t achieve perfection until we arrive at heaven’s gates.
-Ardis Rivera
-Romans 3:10-12 NIV
As it is written:
“There is no one righteous, not even one;
there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God.
All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”
Saturday November 15th, 2004
I got up earlier than usual to put my thoughts down this morning, and since me wife had to be at work before 6am, I figured that I would have plenty of time to get it done. I had my morning planned, quiet time, writing, getting kids up and moving for their Saturday morning basketball games.
No sooner had my wife walked out the door, and then my 14-month old daughter woke up with shrieks that would soon wake our other children. A bottle, a blanket, and snuggling in our favorite chair together were the thing she needed. Three times this “experienced” Dad tried laying her back in her crib, three times I picked her up as she fussed for her “da-da.” “God”, I said, “I have work to do.” “So do I,” he told me, giving you a moment with your daughter this morning to forever etch in your memory.
So after nearly an hour of snuggling, this “daddy” was able to lay his daughter down, but not until I sang songs to her, watched the sun start rising with her, and spent some much needed “snuggle time” with her. Yes, even Daddy’s need snuggle time.
Have you spent time with your Daddy in heaven? Have you “snuggled” up to him lately and just spent time talking with him about all he’s done for you. When we are scared, he’s the one who we need to snuggle up to, and when we are exhausted and weary, he will cradle us in his “favorite chair” until we are calm and relaxed. I can’t think of a better way to spend an early morning (or every morning for that matter), snuggling with my “Dad” in heaven, can you?
-Garrett Novak
-2 Cor 1:3-4 NIV
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
Friday, November 14, 2003
If we strive for perfection we strive in futility. If we strive for grace, we strive in Christ!
-Lyn Sahr
-Ps 119:96 NIV
To all perfection I see a limit;
but your commands are boundless.
-2 Cor 12:9 NIV
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Thursday, November 13, 2003
I have to praise God today. Everything looked very gloom and doom in recent days for our church when a bank backed out of their loan commitment after we were supposed to close on our new building. But then another bank stepped in and picked up the loan. What appeared to be total devastation suddenly changed to something better and probably the way God wanted it in the first place. So, although a few days delayed, we will close on our new building next week and tentatively hold our first service the end of this month or the first Sunday of December.
Again, the spiritual warfare runs rampant when God’s people step out on faith but God prevails. We are a church that has put ourselves in God’s hands by faith knowing that the task we are called to is bigger than us and that we are not equipped or financed to accomplish all God has in mind for us. But thankfully, the King of kings and the Lord of lords is!
And He is big enough to handle the spiritual warfare surrounding your life and ministry too!
-Lyn Sahr
-2 Cor 1:10-11 NIV
In him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11 as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.
Wednesday, November 12, 2003
I am convinced that many, if not most, people who are trying to serve God in one form of ministry or another quit to soon. Ministry is tough because there is spiritual opposition that dwells within the vision of each and every ministry regardless of the size. Spiritual opposition comes in different forms and it often takes months or even years to break through those walls. For some it may take a lifetime!
A pastor may spend years to see revival. A Bible study leader may spend years seeing someone finally led to the Lord or gain spiritual understanding to be effective in his or her own life. If we quit too soon it may never happen or someone else will have to accept the call and sols will be lost in the waiting.
Because we an instant society who has lost the understanding of the word “patience” does mean that God has. When we read the scriptures we see examples of only a few of the conversions in the world, even during that time. Yes dramatic, radical conversions do occur but many people receive Christ through the patient loving hand of a servant of God that may take years to realize.
I am learning the value of patience and “stick-to-it-ness!” I learned it from a patient loving God over the past fifty-five years!
-Lyn Sahr
-2 Peter 3:13-15 NIV
But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.
14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation…
Tuesday, November 11, 2003
Do you have an “always on” line to God (DSL) or do you just call when in need (“dial-up”)?
In Jesus, we have a direct connection that never fails.
-Martin Wishnatsky
“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us . . .” Ephesians 3:20
Monday, November 10, 2003
A heavy heart is not because of being overweight but because of being overburdened. When we try to carry the weight that only God can carry it is futile. But isn’t it amazing how futile we can be in our understanding? God did not make us to do His job or carry His burdens. He made us to bring Him burdens and let Him be God.
And this does not just apply to the “other guy!”
-Lyn Sahr
-Ps 68:19 NIV
Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior,
who daily bears our burdens.
Sunday, November 9, 2003
There are days when everything just seems to go wrong. I have been experiencing that. First, I got sick and this cold has lingered. The first cold spell here took it’s toll on me. (The stranger from the north here no longer wants any cold weather to come—I’ll take the heat any day!) Then, the computer started acting up. And, in spite of being assured that I would have internet in the house by last week, I am still waiting. Then, when I went to check for e-mail messages from the north, I received a message from the director of our ministry advising me to be in prayer, that there was a lot spiritual attack going on against us. As I was thinking about all the “stuff” going on, I started to feel sorry for myself. But in the midst of all of this, I was reminded of what one of the pastors here told me. When Satan unleashes the attacks, it means that God is about to pour out His blessings. We just need to hang on.
I have no doubt that God wants me here. I have no doubt that the vision of this ministry is a God-given vision and when I see the way the pastors and churches are responding here, it is a confirmation that this is of God. And I guess what should really surprise me is that I haven’t sensed more attacks from the enemy.
It probably should come as no surprise that the message sent to me about the spiritual attacks was sent on October 31. On that evening, I was asked to attend an anti-Halloween event the youth in Escobedo had organized. There was lots of good music, skits, dramas and the Gospel was presented to all who came. Everyone was given candy and a New Testament. Several children raised their hands for salvation. Did this all bring about an uproar in the enemy’s camp? I think so. But as I have been considering all of this, I realize that the attacks may be unpleasant, but I know that the enemy is already defeated. So, it is time to stop feeling sorry for myself and get back to the job that God has called me to do, and let God take care of the details.
As I am writing this, I have a CD playing (by the way, my CD player is acting up too!) and an old Gaither song is on. Part of the lyrics go like this “Oh then I heard that the King of the Ages, He had fought all life’s battles for me and Victory, victory is mine for the claiming and Now Praise God, I am free. It is finished, the battle is over. It is finished, there’ll be no more war. It is finished, the end of the story. It is finished and Jesus is Lord.” (It Is Finished, William & Gloria Gaither, 1976, Gaither Music Company)
Since Jesus has already won the battle, let’s remind the enemy of that fact. He can do nothing unless we allow him to intimidate us. I will choose to go forward, knowing that I serve the One who has defeated the enemy.
-Ardis Rivera
-Colossians 2:15 NIV
And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Saturday November 8th, 2003
My wife and I spent one morning this week in “Urgent Care” after she sprained her finger at our home. Urgent care is like the emergency room at a hospital, although it is at our local clinic. It’s for people who don’t quite need the emergency room, but can’t wait to make an appointment to see the doctor.
As Christians, we seem to know that at times we need to go to God for “urgent care.” Maybe we’ve stopped going to church, that old habit (sin) is creeping back in our life, and we’ve been backsliding in our faith. Don’t put it off, now is the right time for God’s “urgent care.” Pray, read his word, fellowship with other believers, go to that new church in town. The great physician is waiting to heal you, but you need to make the first move.
-Garrett Novak
-Matt 9:12-13 NIV
On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Friday, November 7, 2003
In this day of ‘doing you own thing’ and ‘the right to do whatever and everyone else has to tolerate what you want to do’, we need to be reminded of what it is that God wants us to do. The Christian life is one that seeks to please God not man. Don’t be fooled by and over emphasis on Christian liberty that says you can do whatever you want and God is obligated to love you.
Paul was speaking to Christians when he wrote the following words:
“So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.”
-Ephesians 4:17-18 (NIV)
-John Roe
Thursday, November 6, 2003
When there is nowhere to turn but to the Lord, where do people turn? Well the obvious answer is, “To the Lord, of course!” Wrong! Most people know they should turn to the Lord when there is no where else to go but they have too much pride and would rather die first… and many of them do!
To me, the strangest thing on earth is people who don’t call on heaven!
-Lyn Sahr
-Ps 53:4 NIV
Will the evildoers never learn–
those who devour my people as men eat bread
and who do not call on God?
Wednesday, November 5, 2003
When cold weather comes to Minnesota it takes a couple to days to adjust. After a few days of weathering the temperatures, we seem to adjust and go on with life as usual. However, it still takes its toll on peoples health and safety.
So it is with sin. It is always cold and miserable. It has a way of giving people a quick jolt but then in a few days they begin to accept it as normal. One of the most unfortunate things in our world today is the fact that we have become desensitized to sin and it is considered “life as usual.”
Sin doesn’t change things; it changes people. Often, forever!!!
-Lyn Sahr
-Rom 6:23 NIV
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Tuesday, November 4, 2003
This morning gas was $1.39 a gallon but this afternoon it went up to $1.59 a gallon. I decided to drive a little further and see if I could find a station that had not went up yet. In a short time I found a station that was at $1.35 per gallon with the cars lined up to buy gas. So I decided to join the line and save .24 cents per gallon!
Finally, as I got near my turn I noticed this guy in a van pumping his gas rather slowly. In fact, three other cars filled at the next pump as he slowly pumped his gas. When it finally clicked off he spend nearly ten more minutes squirting in a little at a time to try to squeeze in all the cheap gas he could. It was one of those prize moments when someone demonstrated his selfishness and lack of consideration very plainly as he gave no consideration to all the people lined up to buy gas before they went home.
Then I thought of how often we do the same thing but in different ways. We spend so much time on our needs while the needs of others dims and soon we are oblivious to the needs of others around us.
I learned something today. Perhaps my lesson may be helpful for you as well.
-Lyn Sahr
-Heb 13:16 NIV
And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Tuesday, November 4, 2003
This morning gas was $1.39 a gallon but this afternoon it went up to $1.59 a gallon. I decided to drive a little further and see if I could find a station that had not went up yet. In a short time I found a station that was at $1.35 per gallon with the cars lined up to buy gas. So I decided to join the line and save .24 cents per gallon!
Finally, as I got near my turn I noticed this guy in a van pumping his gas rather slowly. In fact, three other cars filled at the next pump as he slowly pumped his gas. When it finally clicked off he spend nearly ten more minutes squirting in a little at a time to try to squeeze in all the cheap gas he could. It was one of those prize moments when someone demonstrated his selfishness and lack of consideration very plainly as he gave no consideration to all the people lined up to buy gas before they went home.
Then I thought of how often we do the same thing but in different ways. We spend so much time on our needs while the needs of others dims and soon we are oblivious to the needs of others around us.
I learned something today. Perhaps my lesson may be helpful for you as well.
-Lyn Sahr
-Heb 13:16 NIV
And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Monday, November 3, 2003
Yesterday our second oldest daughter gave birth to our second grandchild, a 6 pound 10 ounce baby boy. After having four daughters, having grandsons is quite and unexpected surprise. After our morning worship service I headed to the Twin Cities and arrived at 12:30 P.M. and he was born at 1:15 P.M. When I walked to the room to see if anyone could give me an update of the birthing process I heard this strong cry coming from the room. This beautiful gift of God was expressing himself. Boy does he have a set of pipes!
At 1:45 P.M. We drove to Eau Claire, about a 90 miles drive, to attend a wedding of one of our other daughter’s best friends. We got there in time for the kiss, which was significant considering they had never kissed before.
Then this morning I officiated a funeral of an elderly gentleman.
Today I am reminded of the different stages of life and how real they are. The beauty of a new baby, the joy of a first kiss and the grieving at the loss of a loved one in less than 24 hours. Although these are very different times in life there is one that paralleled all of these, the presence of God.
-Lyn Sahr
-Ps 50:1-2 NIV
The Mighty One, God, the LORD,
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets.
2 From Zion, perfect in beauty,
God shines forth.
Sunday, November 2, 2003
I have been living in Monterrey for about 7 weeks now and I have come to consider this to be home. The Lord has truly blessed me. I cannot imagine having a better welcome to any place that what I have had here.
I have noticed quite a few things in the short time I have been here. One thing that has really blessed me is that I see pastors working together, helping each other. There is no sense of competition that I see here. When a new church opens, it appears that the other pastors and churches reach out to help the new church get started. I was just told of a pastor who was about to quit the ministry a couple of months ago, but the pastors in the area all got together and went to him to encourage him to keep going and they would help him in any way they could.
In Hebrews 12:1, we are told to run with perseverance the race that is before us. But this race is different than most races. In most races, only one wins. In this race, all who cross the finish line will win. So, when we see someone struggling, we should stop and help that person along. How many times do we see a fellow Christian fall or give up the struggle and we say things like we figured he or she would never make it. Maybe it’s time to go to that brother or sister who is struggling, and possibly fighting for his or her very spiritual life, and give him or her a hand, helping our fellow believers make it to the goal. I think this is what Jesus would want us to do.
Look around you. Who needs some encouragement today? Who is struggling? When you see someone who is struggling, ask God how you can help pick him or her up and help that person make it to the final goal. When I envision this, I see Jesus smiling and cheering us on as we help each other to the goal. I can’t imagine having a better cheerleader than Jesus Christ. Reach out and help a struggling Christian and listen for the cheers coming from heaven.
-Ardis Rivera
-Hebrews 12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every thing that hinders us and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Saturday, November 1, 2003
When life doesn’t go the way you had planned how do you react? When the job promotion goes to a co-worker instead of you, how do you handle it? When the cancer comes back a few months after chemotherapy, are you angry about it? When your marriage of 20 years is falling apart and heading towards divorce, what are you feeling?
As Christians, so many times we think that, if we are a child of God, his “magic” formula protects us from the heartache and pain of life but that’s simply not true. As Christians, we are not immune to the pain of the world; we just have someone to share our pain with us. How is your pain meter today? Are you choosing to be bitter or better over your circumstances? God is faithful, just wait on him and see.
-Garrett Novak
-James 1:2-5 NIV
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
