“Hope for the Helpless”

“But You have seen, for You observe trouble and grief, to repay it by Your hand. The helpless commits himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.” (Psalm 10:14)

Have you ever felt helpless? Perhaps you’ve experienced the helplessness that comes after giving in to temptation. Or, maybe you’ve known helplessness in just trying to live consistently for Jesus. All of us have gone through those times when helplessness and hopelessness pervade our souls.

The psalmist knew those same kinds of feelings. He understood that those who love God will experience times of helplessness that come from trouble and grief. He also knew that God takes notice of those times.
That knowledge puts hope in our hearts.

Too many of us who fight for freedom fail to anticipate the hard times.
We think all the hard times happened prior to coming to Christ. It only makes sense to us that coming to Christ should make everything better.
That kind of thinking sets us up for failure.

Reality sets in pretty quickly. While the salvation “event” brings hope and assurance, salvation as “the journey” gets difficult and complicated. When we hit the sharp curves and the pot holes, we wonder what happened to the joy and peace we knew when we first came to faith. We discover the “trouble and grief” of which the psalmist wrote. With the “trouble and grief” comes the sense of helplessness.

This verse from Psalm 10 isn’t about the helplessness, though. Rather, it’s about our gracious God who knows about trouble, grief and helplessness. He notices! He helps! Everything we need to combat the helplessness that invades our souls is found in God and His grace.

Freedom Fighters hear these words and respond like the helpless of the psalmist day responded. We commit ourselves to God. Doing that assures us of His help when trouble, grief and helplessness assault us. All of us who love freedom in Christ need to understand the realities of walking with Jesus. Trouble grief and helplessness will come. How we respond determines the level of freedom we’ll know during those times.

“But You have seen, for You observe trouble and grief, to repay it by Your hand. The helpless commits himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.” (Psalm 10:14) – Pastor John Strain is Senior Pastor of First Baptist Toms River

God’s WORD for YOU: 1 Kings 14-15; Luke 22: 31-46

Think About This: He does not need to transplant us into a different field, but right where we are, with just the circumstances that surround us, he makes his sun to shine and his dew to fall upon us, and transforms the very things that were before our greatest hindrances into the chiefest and most blessed means of our growth. No difficulties in your case can baffle him, no dwarfing of your growth in years that are past, no apparent dryness of your inward springs of life, no crookedness or deformity in any of your past development, can in the least mar the perfect work that he will accomplish, if you will only put yourselves absolutely into his hands and let him have his own way with you. –
Hannah Whitall Smith

GOD THE ALL SUFFICIENT ONE

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew
6:21

Several years ago a friend of mine gave me a book that I have treasured in my devotional library. It is called THE VALLEY OF VISION and it is a collection of Puritan prayers. I am rereading it this month and have been blessed again at the depth at which these men talked to God.

I read this one this morning and it spoke volumes to my heart:

O God whose will conquers all,

There is no comfort in ANYTHING apart from enjoying You, and being engaged in Your service; You are ALL in all, and all enjoyments are what to me You make them, and no more. I am well pleased with Your will, whatever it is, or should be in all respects. And if You bid me decide for myself in any affair, I would choose to refer ALL to You, for you are infinitely wise and cannot do amiss, as I am in danger of doing.

I rejoice to think that ALL things are at YOUR disposal, and it delights me to leave them there. Then prayer turns wholly into praise, and all I can do is to adore and bless YOU!

What shall I give YOU for all Your benefits? I am in a strait betwixt go, knowing not what to do; I long to make some return, but have nothing to offer, and can only rejoice that You do all, that none in heaven or on earth shares Your honor. I can of myself do nothing to glorify Your blessed name, but I can through grace cheerfully surrender soul and body You.

I know that You are the author and finisher of faith, that the whole work of redemption is Yours alone, that every good work or thought found in me is the effect of Your power and grace, that Your sole motive in working in me to will and to do if for Your good pleasure.

O God, it is amazing that men can talk so much about man’s creaturely power and goodness, when, if You did not hold back every moment, we should be devils incarnate. This, by bitter experience, You have taught me concerning myself.” Amen

Powerful prayer! THE VALLEY OF VISION is available from the KESWICK BOOK AND GIFT SHOP. Call today and order a copy. It will bless your heart.
(732-350-1187 ext. 31) – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s KESWICK

God’s WORD for YOU: 2 Kings 12-13; Luke 22:1-30

Think about this: “Oh, see God’s lovely rainbow!” said Daddy to his tiny daughter. “Yes, Daddy, He must have done it with His left hand.”
“Whatever do you mean?” asked Daddy. “Well, Daddy, Jesus is on His right hand!” Amusing? Yet how true! – it is indeed because Jesus is THERE that the rainbow is HERE! – J. Sidlow Baxter

The National Day of Prayer
“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him and I am helped.” Psalm 28:7

Today is the National Day of Prayer and this year’s theme is “PRAYER! AMERICA’S STRENGTH AND SHIELD.” At 10:00 AM today, 560 of our Community Hymnsing guests will gather in the Activity Center to worship and pray for President Bush, Vice-President Cheney, Congress, the Senate, our troops and our nation.

Why pray for America? I was driving in the car a number of weeks ago and heard a powerful song by Carman. I think it captures why we as brothers in Christ need to pray for our nation, not just today, but every day:

AMERICA AGAIN
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, first Chief Justice John Jay.Names synonymous with the spirit of our country.The Founding Fathers of the USA.Over Two Hundred years ago, they shook of the chains of tyranny from Great Britain by Divine call.Citing 27 biblical violations, they wrote the Declaration of Independence, with Liberty, justice for all.But something happened since Jefferson call the Bible the cornerstone for American liberty, then put in our schools for a light.Or since “Give me liberty or give me death” Patrick Henry said,”our country was founded on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”We eliminated God from the equation from American Life. Thus eliminating the reason why this nation first began.

From beyond the grave I hear the voices of our founding fathers plead,”You need God in America again”Of the 55 men who formed the constitution, 52 were active members of their church.Founding fathers like Noah Webster, who wrote the first dictionary,could literally quote the Bible, Chapter and Verse.James Madison said, “we’ve staked our future on our ability to follow the 10 commandments with all our heart”

These men believed that you could not even call yourself an Americanif you subvert the word of God.In his farewell address, Washington said “you can’t have national morality apart from religious principle,” and its true.
Because now we have nearly 150,000 kids carrying guns through these war zones that we call public schools.In the 40’s and 50’s student problems were chewing gum and talking.In the 90’s rape and murder are the trend.The only way this nation can even hope to last this decadeis put God in America again.

Chorus:The only hope for America is Jesus. The only hope for our country is Him. If we repent of our ways, stand firm and say, We need God in America againAbe Lincoln said, “The philosophy of the school room in one generation, will be the philosophy of government in the next.”

So when you eliminate the word of God from the classroom and politics,you eliminate the nation that Word protects.America is now number 1 in teen pregnancy and violent crime.Number 1 in illiteracy, drug use and divorce.Every day a new holocaust of 5,000 unborn die,while pornography floods our streets like open sewers. Americas dead and dying hand is on the threshold of the church.While the spirit of Sodom and Gomorra vex us all.When it gets to the point the people would rather come out of the closet than clean it,it is the sign that the judgment of God is going to fall.

If there has ever been a time to rise up Church, its now. And as the blood bought saints of the living God proclaim,that its time to sound the alarm from the church house to the White House and say, “WE WANT GOD IN AMERICA AGAIN.”I believe its time America, to stand up and proclaim,”that one nation under God is our demand.” And send this evil lifestyle back to Satan where it came from. And let the Word of God revive our dying land! For Jesus Christ is coming back again in all his glory. And every eye shall see him on that day. That’s why a new anointing of Gods power is coming on us to boldly tell the world you must be saved!

Because astrology won’t save you.Your horoscope won’t save you.The Bible says these things are all a farce.If your born again, you don’t need to look to the stars for your answers,cause you can look to the very one that made those stars.History tells us, time and time again,to live like there is no God makes you a fool.If you want to see kids live right, stop handing out condoms and start handing out the word of God in schools.

Chorus:The only hope for America is Jesus.The only hope for our country is Him.If we repent of our ways, stand firm and say, We need God in America again.©Carmen

It’s time to pray for America, my brothers! – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s KESWICK

God’s WORD for YOU today: 1 Kings 10-11; Luke 21:2038

Think about this: Kindness is more than deeds. It is an attitude, an expression, a look, a touch. It is anything that lifts another person. Neil Strait

GOD ALL SUFFICIENT

Here is a powerful prayer for today:

O Lord of grace,

The world is before me this day,
And I am weak and fearful,
But I look to You for strength;
If I venture forth alone I stumble and fall, But on the Beloved’s arms I am firm As the eternal hills; If left to the treachery of my heart I shall shame thy Name, But if enlightened, guided, upheld by Your Spirit, I shall bring Thee glory.
Be thou my arm to support,
My strength to stand,
My light to see,
My feet to run,
My shield to protect,
My sword to repel,
My sun to warm.
To enrich me will not diminish Your fullness; All Your lovingkindness is in Your Son, I bring him to thee in the arms of faith, I urge his saving Name as the One who died for me.
I plead His blood to pay my debts of wrong.
Accept His worthiness for my unworthiness, His sinlessness for my transgressions, His purity for my uncleanness, His sincerity for my guile, Hs truth for my deceits, His meekness for my pride, His constancy for my backslidings, His love for my enmity, His fullness for my emptiness, His faithfulness for my treachery, His obedience for my lawlessness, His glory for my shame, His devotedness for my waywardness, His holy life for my unchaste ways, His righteousness for my dead works, His death for my life.” – from THE VALLEY OF VISION – Prayers of the Puritans

Think about this: If you knew that only a few would care that you came, would you still come? If you knew that those you loved would laugh in your face, would you still care? If you knew that the tongues you made would mock you, the mouths you made would spit at you, the hands you made would crucify you, would you still make them? Christ did. Max Lucado

HE PRAYED EARNESTLY …

“Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly.” James 5:17

“Thank God Elijah was just like us! He sat under a tree, complained to God, and express his unbelief – just as we have often done. Yet this was not the case at all when was truly in touch with God. ‘Elijah was a man just like us,’ YET ‘he prayed earnestly.’ The literal meaning of this in the Greek is magnificent: instead of saying, ‘earnestly,’ it says, ‘He prayed in prayer.’ In other words, ‘HE KEPT ON PRAYING.’ The lesson here is that we must KEEP PRAYING.

Climb to the top of Mount Carmel and see the great story of FAITH AND SIGHT. After Elijah had called down fire from heaven to defeat the prophets of Baal, rain was needed for God’s prophecy to be fulfilled. And the man who could command fire from heaven could bring rain using the same methods. We are told, ‘Elijah … bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees’ (1 Kings 18:42), shutting out all sights and sounds. He put himself in a position, beneath his robe to neither see nor hear what was happening.

Elijah then said to his servant, ‘Go and look toward the sea.’ (1 Kings 18:43) Upon returning, the servant replied, ‘There is nothing there.’ How brief his response must have seemed! NOTHING! Can you imagine what you would do under the same circumstances? We would say, ‘Just what I expected!’ and then we would stop praying. BUT ELIJAH DID NOT GIVE UP!

No. In fact, SIX TIMES he told his servant, ‘Go back.’ Each time the servant returned saying, ‘NOTHING!’

Yet ‘the seventh time the servant reported, ‘A cloud AS SMALL AS A MAN’s HAND is rising from the sea’ (1 Kings 18:44). What a fitting description, for a man’s hand had been raised in prayer to God BEFORE the rains came. And the rains came so fast and furiously that Elijah warned Ahab to ‘ go down before the rain stops you.’

This is a story of FAITH AND SIGHT – faith cutting itself off from everything EXCEPT GOD, with sight that looks and yet receives nothing. Yes, in spite of utterly HOPELESS REPORTS received from SIGHT, this is a story of faith that continues ‘PRAYING IN PRAYER!’

Do you know how to pray that way – how to prevail in prayer? Let your sight bring you reports as DISCOURAGING as possible, BUT PAY NO ATTENTION TO THEM. Our heavenly Father lives, and even the delay of His answers to our prayers are part of His goodness.

Each of three young boys once gave a definition of faith that illustrates the importance of tenacity. The first boy defined faith as ‘taking hold of Christ,’ the second as ‘keeping our hold on Him,’ and the third as, ‘not letting go of Him!’ – Streams in the Desert – April 29th reading

I so needed this devotional reading this morning. Lindsay is facing a
5-6 hour open heart surgery today. The SIGHT news was not encouraging.
However, we are “not letting go of HIM” this morning. While we were discouraged yesterday with the news, we are rejoicing that TODAY we will see His goodness in ways that will amaze the doctors and nurses. How that looks, I don’t know – I am not writing the plan. But by FAITH, praying earnestly, we wait upon the ONE who is able to do “exceedingly abundantly above and beyond all that we can ask, think or imagine.” (Ephesians 3:20)

If you’d like to keep up on Lindsay’s progress, check out her blog on the KESWICK website: www.americaskeswick.org – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s KESWICK

God’s WORD for YOU: 1 Kings 6-7; Luke 20:27-47

Think About This: “Leave everything to Him and it will be gloriously and graciously uncertain how He will come in – but you can be certain that He will come. Remain faithful to Him.” Oswald Chambers

HE GIVE MORE GRACE

Saturday afternoon Zach and I made a surprise visit to Children’s Boston Hospital. Yesterday was our 34th wedding anniversary and Jan was down because we would not be together on our special day. We have never been a part on our anniversary in 33 years. Needless to say, we surprised her!

When I walked into Lindsay’s room, even though I had been tracking on her progress on the phone, I was not mentally prepared for what I saw.
Compared to how I left her, she was hooked up to many more IV contraptions, as well as being hooked up to the heart and lung machine.

I have found myself saying to myself during the last two days, “How much more can she go through? How much more can her little body handle? How much longer can my kids go through this trial?”

On top of this my staff seem to be getting hammered with trials. The wife of our Director of Maintenance received a surprise when the doctor called to tell her that her recent biopsy showed she had a malignant melanoma. On Thursday I spoke with one of my Board members and his wife in the parking lot as they were getting ready to leave for several weeks in Florida. On the way, his wife had a massive stroke and went home to be with Jesus.

We continue to face financial issues at America’s KESWICK, and while God has supplied just in the nick of time, this weighs heavy on our hearts.
This morning in the shower, I was reminded of the words of a wonderful old hymn that sums it all up:

He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater, He sendeth more strength as our labors increase; To added afflictions He addeth His mercy, To multiplied trials he multiplies peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance, When our strength has failed ere the day is half done, When we reach the end of our hoarded resources Our Father’s full giving is only begun.

His love has no limits, His grace has no measure, His power no boundary known unto men; For out of His infinite riches in Jesus He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.

Today Lindsay possibly faces open heart surgery to do a heart bypass. I don’t know how much more she can face. But I do know this – He will continue to pour out His grace again and again and again.

“And the Lord, it is He that doth go before me; He will be with me; He will not fail me, fear not, neither be dismayed.” Deut. 31:8 And He wants to do the same for you, my friend! – Bill Welte – President and CEO of America’s KESWICK

God’s Word for You Today: 1 Kings 3-5; Luke 20:1-26

Think About This: There are three things to be seen in an intercessor which are not necessarily found in ordinary prayer: 1) Identification 2) Agony 3) Authority…Intercession so identifies the intercessor with the sufferer that it gives him/her a prevailing place with God. Norman P. Grubb

The Pursuit (1 Peter 1:13-16)

I attended the wedding of a missionary friend’s daughter yesterday. Both the missionary and pastor who participated in the service spoke of the importance of holiness over happiness. They hadn’t compared notes prior to the wedding; God just led them both in the same direction. Their thoughts prompted me to think about this Freedom Fighter and its connection with yesterday’s edition.

We thought about perspective yesterday and how choosing the “big picture” over the “moment” can protect our freedom from bondage and sin. Peter told us to look backward and remember what God has done for us through Jesus’ resurrection. Then he told us to look forward to what awaits us in “the last time.” (1 Peter 1:3-5)

Peter’s teaching doesn’t stop with perspective. When we’ve gained that “big picture” perspective that helps us live in light of eternity, we’re ready for a new pursuit. He tells us about that pursuit beginning in 1 Peter 1:13 and concludes the teaching in vs. 16. Verse 15 is the sum of this pursuit teaching: “but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.”

There’s the pursuit. Placing ourselves in the “big picture” prepares us for the pursuit of holiness. God saved us to redeem us from our sin and its penalties. He also saved us to restore us to His original design. That design was quite simple. We were created in His image! The pursuit is a growing level of holiness that causes us to look more and more like Jesus.

Pursuing holiness isn’t easy. But when you take a moment to think about it, you’ll remember that nothing really worth pursuing is easy. Holiness, becoming more and more what God designed us to be, is a worthwhile pursuit for every Freedom Fighter. We fight for freedom from sin and life-controlling addictions. Winning that fight results in holiness, but all of us in the fight know the difficulties that come with fighting.

It seems to me, in reading Peter’s instruction, that we need to tie perspective and pursuit together. Perspective helps us understand the need for the pursuit. The work involved in the pursuit of holiness is less difficult when that “big picture” perspective informs our efforts. That eternal perspective makes the pursuit worthwhile.

Bill Welte and I stand ready to help you gain perspective and pursue holiness. Others in your life can help, too, if you’ll give them the chance. All of us maintain perspective better and pursue holiness with more success when we do it with others who love Jesus. We’re not designed to do it by ourselves. Let’s help one another pursue with perspective. – Pastor John Strain is senior Pastor of First Baptist of Toms River.

God’s Word for You: 1 Kings 1-2; Luke 19:26-48

Think About This: We must get rid of the pestilent, deadly notion that the amount of things we get through is the standard. The steadiness with which we radiate God is the standard. Evelyn Underhill

The Power of Perspective (1 Peter 1:3-5)

I wonder how many of us struggle with freedom issues because we struggle with perspective. I know I have those days when I lose perspective. When it happens, it’s almost always detrimental to my walk with Jesus. Conversely, when I live with perspective, I handle struggles, temptations and life in appropriate ways.

Think with me about Peter’s teaching to early Christians who were suffering for their faith. They were “grieved by various trials,” (1:6) that were often hard and even life-threatening. Without perspective, turning away from their faith might become an option. Peter tells them that seeing a bigger picture will help them understand the purpose of their trials. Even more, those trials become of less importance when the “big picture” comes into view.

What is Peter’s perspective lesson? He asks his readers to think about their past, present and future. He reminds them that they have received “a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (vs. 3) Then he points them to their future. By His very own power God is keeping them for “salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (vs. 5) That’s their future.

Peter urges them to grasp the big picture. He urges us to the same goal. He wants us never to forget what God has done for us already. That’s our past. He wants us to remember what awaits us in the completion of our salvation. That’s our future. Decisions and choices we make every day must see more than “the moment.” Peter wants us to think about what God has done for us and what awaits us in eternity each time we make choices.

I’ve learned through the years that choosing to live only “in the moment” prevents me from seeing the longer view of life. “In the moment” allows me to make choices without thinking about consequences. Choosing to make decisions informed by perspective helps me think in terms of costs/benefits. What will a particular decision cost me, and is that cost with the benefit? Perspective also allows me to weigh my choices in a broader time frame than “the moment.”

Our freedom depends on our choices. A perspective driven by biblical principle that protects us from “the moment” will help us guard our freedom. That perspective is available to us all. We find it in God’s Word. Have you been there today? – Pastor John Strain is Pastor of First Baptist of Toms River.

God’s WORD for YOU: 2 Samuel 23-24; Luke 19:1-27

Think About This: It is a precious thing beyond all words – especially in the hour of death – that we have a God whose nature is such that what pleases Him is not our work for Him but our need for Him. John Piper

FROM “WITHOUT HOPE” TO “A LIVING HOPE”

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy as begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you”
1 Peter 1:3-4).

Almost all of the New Testament was written to people who were in trouble in one way or another, who were unhappy for various reasons, who were tempted to look back to the live out of which they had been saved. They were unhappy and troubled even though they were Christians.
They didn’t know what to do or believe, and they needed help. In other words, the apostles were writing to real people just like us and giving them God’s answers to the same kinds of problems we face.

What did they tell them? One of the primary questions they answered over and over had to do with God’s forgiveness. Apparently, these people had committed so much sin so many different times, they were worried and wondered if God would still love them, forgive them, and let them into heaven.

Like these people, maybe there is some sin in your life that makes you think God couldn’t love you and He just wouldn’t forgive you:
“God couldn’t love me. After all, I stole something. I had an abortion. I’ve told a lot of lies. I’ve had premarital sex. I’ve committed adultery or been involved in homosexuality.”

Well, the Bible says you are wrong about God! He knows all about your sins and still loves you. He wants you to come to Him for complete forgiveness and for His help and guidance.

In Ephesians 2:11-12 we read that we were sinners “without hope and without God in the world,” totally undeserving and unworthy of God’s favor and forgiveness. But He extended His kindness to us and instructed us to gladly and humbly accept it and believe that He loves us.

The Apostle Peter writes, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3-4). Dr. John Ankerberg

Today’s devotional was taken from the devotional, REAL VICTORY FOR REAL LIFE, published by America’s KESWICK. It is available through the Keswick Book and Gift Shop – 732-350-1187 ext 31.

God’s WORD for YOU: Reading: 2 Samuel 21-22; Luke 18:24-43 (Just a reminder that if you read the passages of Scripture listed here, you will read through the entire Bible in a year!)

Think about this: Temper is what gets most of us into trouble. Pride is what keeps us there. Anonymous

Another Whack on the Head
“The eyes of all look expectantly to you.” Psalm 145:15

Last night the kids were told that Lindsay’s situation is dire. They are coming to a point where some major decisions will have to be made. Her little body cannot remain on the heart and lung machine for and extended period of time, so in the next several days, they need to have a plan as to what THEY can do.

The artificial heart has arrived from Germany but they cannot do that procedure until the infection she has clears up completely. Until the infect clears up she is on the “inactive” list for a heart transplant.

The past three weeks have been like a roller coaster experience for all of us, so this morning before opening the Word, I begged the Lord for Him to speak:

“The eyes of the ALL look expectantly to you.” – Psalm 145:15. There are literally thousands praying for Lindsay from coast to coast as well as places like Tel Aviv, Israel – people we don’t even know are praying for her.

“HE gives life, breath and all things. The Lord is good to all, and HIS tender mercies are over all HIS works. Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. The same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. I will lift up my eyes to the hills – from whence comes my help? Behold as the eyes of the servant look to the hand of their masters, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God.

The Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him. It will be said in that day: ‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for Him; we will rejoice and be glad in His salvation. If we hope for what we do not see, then we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.” (Acts 17:25; Psalm 145:9; Matthew 6:26; Romans 10:12; Psalm 121:1; Psalm 123:2; Isaiah 30:18; Isaiah 25:9; Romans 8:25)

Yesterday I was overwhelmed with the expenses that are mounting up for hotel accommodations, parking, etc. The kids are strapped financially and so Jan and I committed to pay the overnight lodging bills. Hotels in Boston are very expensive, and in addition, you pay for parking. Thankfully they are staying at a place that has worked with the hospital and the room is $25 per night vs. hotel rooms that are $100 – $125.

I was driving to a funeral and my heart became overwhelmed with anxiety.
Doesn’t the Lord already know that we are struggling financially at Keswick, and now I have the concerns of my own personal finances? In my mind I was calculating out how much we needed to cover just the past three weeks. Humanly speaking, I was getting overwhelmed.

I was talking to my daughter Julie who whacked me reminding me that God would take care of this situation. Guys, I hadn’t closed the up my cell phone when the phone rang and the voice on the other end said, “I just wanted you and Jan to know that I am putting a check in the mail for $600 for you to use for your expenses!” BIG WHACK ON THE SIDE OF THE HEAD! Will I ever get it?

Today I join the thousands of praying friends who are “looking expectantly” to see what God will do for Lindsay, Jon, Laura and Tanner. Thank you for partnering with us on this journey. We love you. – Bill Welte is the President and CEO of America’s KESWICK. To follow Lindsay’s journey, check out her blog at http://lindsaykeswick.blogspot.com/

God’s Word for YOU: 2 Samuel 19:20; Luke 18:1-23

Think about this: We come in the holiness of God’s grace through us, for only because the LORD has invited us to come into his presence and has set us apart as his holy saints through the work of Christ can we possibly enter to worship him. Glory! How can we do anything but worship God as fully as possible with all the best gifts at our command? Glory! How can we respond in any way but with utter, wasteful (in the world’s terms) devotion of lives? Glory! How can we help but want to be the church? How can we not seek eagerly to welcome our neighbors into the holy splendor? Marva Dawn