Friday, June 30, 2006
Monday we welcomed into the world our fourth grandchild, a beautiful little girl. I am reminded of the miracle of birth, the innocence of which we are born and the dependence babies have on their mothers. God truly is good and he has blessed us with two grandsons and two granddaughters. For this we give Him thanks and praise.
-Lyn Sahr
-Col 3:15-17 NIV
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
The secret to finding happiness in marriage is….
Rule # 5 – Stand guard with your life over the most important school you will ever attend, the institution of marriage!
Rule #5 is not a cure all but it helps us understanding that marriage is an education and constant learning experience that you never graduate from because you will never quit learning or ever learn it all!
P.S. Marriages fail because one or both of the people are too proud to learn, mostly about themselves, and make personal changes that could make their marriage the thing of beauty God meant it to be. These are God’s dumbest children!!!
-Lyn Sahr
-Phil 4:12-13 NIV
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
The secret to finding happiness in marriage is….
Rule # 4 – Be a roll player, roll with the punches not punch with the rolls!
Rule #4 is not a cure all but in this imperfect world with imperfect spouses it is necessary for oneness!
-Lyn Sahr
-Rom 15:5-6 NIV
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, 6 so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
The secret to finding happiness in marriage is….
Rule # 3 – Walk the same path and stop to kneel together at the hills and valleys.
Rule #3 is not a cure all but it will sweeten the journey in this mystical spiritual union!
-Lyn Sahr
-Eph 3:14-21 NIV
For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Monday, June 26, 2006
The secret to finding happiness in marriage is….
Rule # 2 – See your spouse as God sees them.
Rule #2 is not a cure all but it will help you love and understand your spouse like you have never loved or understood him or her before!
-Lyn Sahr
-Eph 5:33 NIV
…each one of you (husbands) also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Forty years ago today my brother was married. Forty years is a long time ago and yet the events of June 1966 are very vivid in my memory. In that month, my sister and her fiancé graduated from college. In the midst of the graduation festivities we were all thinking of the upcoming wedding and all the relatives who would be coming. Then a week before the wedding my grandfather was killed in a car accident. So right before the wedding we were traveling to another state for a funeral. The wedding was a mixture of happiness and sorrow because my grandfather had planned to be there. Then two days after the wedding we received word that my uncle had died in his sleep. When that month was over, we wondered what the rest of the summer would be like.
Life has all sorts of ups and downs. There are moments of grief and moments of joy. But as Christians we can rest assured that God is ultimately in control. Nothing that happened that horrible, wonderful month 40 years ago was a surprise to Him. And there is nothing that happens to you or me today that is a surprise to him. He has everything under control, even when everything seems to be going wrong.
It is a comfort to remember in the tough times of life that it is true: He has the whole world in His hands—and His hands are full of love.
-Ardis River
-Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, 11
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
Saturday June 24, 2006
Life is a Roller-Coaster, but God is manning the controls!
-Garrett Novak
-Psalm 55:22 (The Message)
Pile your troubles on God’s shoulders—he’ll carry your load, he’ll help you out. He’ll never let good people topple into ruin.
Friday, June 23, 2006
I have waited to write the TFD for Friday because I wanted to share a story with you about jumping to conclusion or assuming something you know nothing about. I remember years ago when a well know area Evangelist was holding meetings not far from here and when he was opening a fancy bottle of apple juice in his bus that someone had given him, another person saw it and thought is was alcohol and spread the rumor near and far about his drinking!
Well, I had a similar thing happen yesterday! I received a voice mail on my cell phone that had come in during the night or early morning. A woman with a sweet voice, whom I thought I recognized, let a message that “I should be ashamed of myself for trying to sell the reception center for Billy Graham’s World Wide pictures office in Mpls. And that it should be made better use of!”
What this dear woman does not know is that when Billy Graham’s headquarters was moved to North Carolina much of the things in the offices were left behind to be either given away to other ministries ot thrown out. Unfortunately, many things were discarded and this reception center from World Wide Pictures was one of them headed that way. No one wanted it but I thought it should have been kept as a piece of history. So, we took it thinking we might use it someday. However, it is a large handmade piece from one of his supporters and it might actually be better used in a large foyer of some kind or just as a collector piece. So, after with conferring with some people associated with the ministry, we decided to sell it as a collector item and use the money in Home and Away Ministries, Inc. to help support the missions in Mexico or Ruby’s Pantry for food distribution. So, I received criticism for rescuing something that was going to be thrown away and using the money to further ministry to the poor. Go figure!
The lesson here is simple, get the facts before you criticize and even then there may be more to the story. Of course, the lady didn’t leave her name or number or I would have called and prayed with her.
-Lyn Sahr
-Prov 15:2 NIV
The tongue of the wise commends knowledge,
but the mouth of the fool gushes folly.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
The secret to finding happiness in marriage is….
Rule # 1 – Find happiness within yourself and your relationship with Christ.
Rule #1 is not a cure all but it gives possibilities to a great marriage. Without it, no one has ever had a happy marriage!
-Lyn Sahr
-Prov 15:13 NIV
A happy heart makes the face cheerful,
but heartache crushes the spirit.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
What is wrong with the world today? I might have found one of the answers this morning.
I am sitting in a restaurant in a small town in northern Minnesota writing this morning. I am waiting for the ministry van to get some warranty work done on a transmission we had rebuilt a couple of months ago. Some people are at a nearby table and they are talking about helping at “the Bible Camp.” I was impressed and assumed they were dedicated Christians. Then someone came up to the table and the same man who talked about working at the Bible Camp said in the conversation “God Damn” this and “God Damn” that.
This is what is wrong with the world today!
-Lyn Sahr
-Rev 2:1-7 NIV
These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: 2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5 Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6 But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Clean out your own garage before criticizing someone else’s clutter.
-Martin Wishnatsky
-Matt 7:3-5 NIV
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Monday, June 19, 2006
From time to time I think of something that rhymes with the first two lines of the old classic little poem below. How do the last two lines speak to you?
Roses are red,
Violets are blue.
Your mission field,
Is inside of you!
-Lyn Sahr
-2 Peter 3:14-18 NIV
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, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
17 Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Today is Father’s Day. My dad passed away over 24 years ago and yet many times I find myself thinking how much I want to talk something over with him. Every time I play the keyboard I remember how much he loved to hear me play. Those things will stay with me forever. He couldn’t be at most of the “special events” like Christmas programs and such due to his job, but he made me know that his desire was to be there and he encouraged me.
Today, many people want us to believe that children don’t really need a father present in their lives. My father was gone a lot due to work, but I always knew that he would be there for me. And that is something that all children need.
Take the time today to tell your dad how much he means to you. I can’t do it. But if your father is still living, do it before it is too late.
-Ardis Rivera
-Ephesians 6:1-3
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— “that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”
Saturday June 17, 2006
Tomorrow is Father’s day in the United States, a day set aside to honor fathers. Being a father myself, I know the struggles we face to lead our families, love and serve our wives’, spend quality time with our children, and to be the spiritual head of our homes.
God designed men with certain characteristics, to be “fathers” and lead our family. Unfortunately, many men didn’t have Godly father’s that were great examples of a loving, serving dad while growing up.
Dads, God has created you to be a father and he has equipped you to fulfill that role. He is the ultimate role model, our heavenly father who will lift you up when you are tired, refresh you when you feel overwhelmed, and hold you when you fail. Plus, he’s left us a guidebook to show us how to do it too!
Keep up the good work dad and Happy Father’s Day!
-Garrett Novak
-1 John 3:1 (NLT)
See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children, and we really are!
-Ephesians 6:4 (MSG)
Fathers, don’t exasperate your children by coming down hard on them. Take them by the hand and lead them in the way of the Master.
Friday, June 16, 2006
People use a lot of expressions to say things in the English language. Sometimes people say, “You have to jump in with both feet!”; “They jumped from the frying pan into the fire!”; “Put some muscle into it!”; “Get your feet wet!” and “Get with the program!”
In the Church we need to hear a lot more of “Put your heart into it!” Sometimes thinking takes us away from the supernatural!
-Lyn Sahr
-Ps 119:36 NIV
Turn my heart toward your statutes
and not toward selfish gain.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
DSL comes to Seekers Bay!
We wondered if we were ever going to be able to get high speed internet access out here but it has finally arrived. Kind of like spiritual maturity in others; we wait and wait and wait and finally one day it arrives! Unfortunately we seem to recognize spiritual maturity or the lack thereof in others much easier than we do in ourselves.
Spiritual maturity doesn’t grow on trees but in the hearts of individuals and those who watch!
-Lyn Sahr
-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.
-2 Peter 3:18 NIV
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
What happens when people really get on fire for the Lord? Of course it varies by the circumstances in ones life but it appears to me that God burns away the string that is attached to the wallets of everyone who has a burning heart. Looking at the income of our churches, it is quite obvious that only a small percentage of Christians are actually paying their tithes let alone offerings. With all the new expensive homes, SUV’s and toys that Christians are building and buying I wonder how many really have the fire of God burning in them. There is nothing wrong with having nice things unless you have been buying it with God’s money!
-Lyn Sahr
-Mal 3:8-12 NIV
Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.
“But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’
“In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse-the whole nation of you-because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the LORD Almighty. 12 “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the LORD Almighty.
Monday, June 12, 2006
My youngest Grandson just left after spending a couple of nights and grandpa and grandma’s house. Yesterday afternoon we launched out of Seekers Bay for a pontoon ride around the lake. When we got back he wanted a bath and then immediately laid down in bed and slept for 12 hours. And who says fresh air isn’t good for you.
Fresh air is good for all of us and none better than the fresh air of the Holy Spirit. We need to step away from the business of life on a regular basis to catch a fresh breath of the Almighty and then, like my grandson, we can find rest and the power for living and ministry. Even Jesus practiced this secret for his rest, strength and power.
-Lyn Sahr
-Luke 6:12-19 NIV
One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. 13 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: 14 Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15 Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil spirits were cured, 19 and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.
Sunday, June 11, 2006
A couple of weeks ago I was in a church and as usual, I like to observe the people around me a little bit. I saw a young woman who I had met a couple months ago. She had recently become a Christian and has since been baptized. What I noticed most was the look of rapture on her face as she worshipped. Then I looked around and saw how some who have known the Lord for years seemed to be thinking of other things (as maybe I was). The thought came to me that we need to return to that first love. It is so important to not let that flame of love for God grow cold.
I also know enough about this young woman that I know what her trip to church is like. She walks down a very steep hill (she lives on top of a mountain) and has quite a long walk to church. After church she makes the trek back up the mountain. Going to church to worship God is not a simple thing—it requires sacrifice.
The Bible talks about the “sacrifice of praise”. We need to be sure that nothing interferes with our praising of God. No matter the circumstances we are to worship Him, even when we have no desire to worship. That is exactly when we most need to worship Him because He is worthy of our worship.
-Ardis Rivera
-Revelation 2:4-5
Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
-Hebrews 13:15
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name.
Saturday, June 10, 2006
This week I celebrated another milestone event…..my birthday. Now I’m still a few years away from what some call the ‘big 40,” but it’s looming closer on the horizon than it did at this time last year. My family, some friends and I spent the day at a water park “relaxing” as we rode waterslides, had water balloon wars and spent hours on the lazy river and in the wave pool. Then we went out for pizza. It truly was a great day with my family and friends.
But as Christians, even more important than our birthday (the day of our birth), is our “re-birthday,” (the day we accepted Christ). Maybe we have it all wrong, and should be celebrating and inviting friends and family over to celebrate our “re-birthday.” What a great way to show those who might not yet know Him, how important Christ is to you.
On a cold winter evening in 1979, my mother and I knelt down next to my bed and I celebrated my “re-birth” in Christ, and I became a new creation. How about you? Do you have a “re-birthday” to celebrate? If not, why not make today your “re-birthday!”
-Garrett Novak
-2 Corinthians 5:17-20 (MSG)
Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you.
Friday, June 9, 2006
When the world seeks a bigger part of you life, you have the right and perhaps the spiritual obligation to say, “no!”
-Lyn Sahr
-Deut 20:4 NIV
For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”
Thursday, June 8, 2006
It is fun to watch kids eat. I spent time with my three grandchildren yesterday. In the afternoon I went to McDonalds Playland with two of them for ice cream cones. They got free “baby cones.” But my 28 month old granddaughter decided she wanted “more ice cream!”
Last night I had dinner at one of our other daughters and her husband’s home with my 2 ½ year old grandson. He didn’t eat everything on his plate but when it came time for cake and ice cream, he was raring to go! Yes, we are all the like my grandchildren, we like treats and lots of them.
In the Christian life there is one special treat that we too often forget about but thoroughly enjoy and can’t get enough of. That is the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. His sweet communion with us gives us an unquenchable thirst for more of God. The craziest thing is we treat Him like Spinach!
-Lyn Sahr
-Ps 51:10-12 NIV
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Wednesday, June 7, 2006
To truly be blessed, you have to be willing! Too many people today never count there blessings and, therefore, think they are never blessed. As they live in the constant state of “blessing denial,” soon they develop a full blown case of “blessing rejection” meaning they never accept or recognize their blessings. In fact, they try to avoid blessings all together so they can live in the state of self pity, feeling rejection from God and anger at God. I have always believed that God is more willing to bless us than we are to receive!
-Lyn Sahr
-Prov 10:6 NIV
Blessings crown the head of the righteous,
but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.
Tuesday, June 6, 2006
I remember an elderly family member who kept this certain amount of cash so he could leave it to his children. So when he died, each child received their share. But when the family gathers nothing is ever said about the money he left. But what is said is about his loving memory. His memory wasn’t about his money but rather his love.
Recently I realized that when people die, they leave everything behind including their love! Their lifetime of love or lack thereof is permanently implanted into the lives of those around them. It makes them who they are and gives them the strength for day to day. So if you are concerned with leaving your children, family or friends a meaningful inheritance, leave them your love. It is something they can always use and will never run out if your love is from God, the endless source of love!
-Lyn Sahr
-1 John 4:7-21 NIV
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
13 We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
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.
