So Few Friends

"We must undergo many trials if we are to enter into the reign of God." 

Acts 14:22

One time when Saint Teresa of Avila was traveling on a horse, her saddle slipped and she turned right around beneath the donkey's belly with her head down, and fell into the mud. She looked up to heaven in her dirty habit and complained. She heard the Lord reply, “Teresa, whom the Lord loves, he chastises. This is how I treat all my friends.” In her usual wit, she threw back the now famous “No wonder you have so few!”

Indeed, we wonder how God keeps His friends in China. There are many underground churches there. Many martyrs have been imprisoned just because they are Christians. Brother Yun, who has been imprisoned 4 times for the gospel, said that the Lord showed him that much of the ministry of Chinese missionaries will take place in prison. Many missionaries are being trained and studying foreign languages so they will be sent out to neighboring countries, where they will probably sent to prison as well. 

 

Lord, compared to the saints and missionaries, I can't say I undergo many trials for You. But like them, may I do my part where I am, with what I have. 

Faith to Move Mountains

"...he had the faith to be saved..." 

Acts 14:9

I've read this passage before, but this time, this verse jumped out at me. While Paul was preaching in Lycaonia, a man who was crippled from birth was listening to Paul. Perhaps he had been listening intently. Paul then looked directly at him and saw that this man had the faith to be healed and saved. Paul then said, "Stand up! On your feet!" The crippled man jumped up and began to walk. 

What is faith? Even faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains and stop a storm. Unfortunately we can't place an order for even a mustard seed of faith on Amazon. But we can grow whatever size of faith we have. "Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.(Romans 10:17)" The crippled man listened to Paul and his tiny little seed of faith got planted in his heart and blossomed into a belief that saved him. In contrast, the people in Jesus' hometown listened but did not accept His words, and He could not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith (Matthew 13:58). Imagine that! Jesus couldn't do miracles because He didn't find faith in His neighbors' hearts!!!!!

We need faith every single day and that is why it is necessary to find ways to grow it. This whole weekend my son was finishing his thesis for Computer Science. He was having a hard time making the program work. I asked him, "Did you pray?" He answered, "Several times." I was confident he would get it to work because he didn't depend on himself alone. During dinner, he had a eureka moment, and thought of one little tweak that would solve his problem. My husband Luigi said programming is very humbling. One little comma can ruin everything. It's the same as anything in life. A friend asked me yesterday how we grew our 50-year old business. I could only answer that is was one miracle after another.  How could my family, a group of artists and designers grow a business without God? No way! 

Father, thank You for the gift of faith. Whatever tiny 1/100000 of a mustard seed I have, help me to grow it. May I continue to hear, read and study Your Word, so that my faith will grow and You can work more miracles in my life. 

Deeply Spiritual Waiters

"...men acknowledged to be deeply spiritual and prudent..." Acts 6:3

Who were the apostles looking for that they needed men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom? In Acts, chapter 6, the Twelve needed help in the daily distribution of food. These men full of wisdom and the Holy Spirit were waiters! One of the men chosen was Stephen, the first martyr. This shows me that whatever our job, no matter how menial, we have to be men and women of integrity and excellence. We may think our work is unimportant, perhaps we are often overlooked by our supervisors or the management, but we still have to do our job to the best of our ability and God-given gifts. 

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men..."(Colossians 3:23) God is our boss! I hope one day when I see Him face to face, He says to me, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" From the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ (Col.3:24). 

Trust in God Still

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God still and trust in Me." John 14:1

Where does trust come from? Most of the time, it comes from knowledge. To trust someone, you have to know him. Does he keep his word? Is he dependable? Does he have integrity? Does he know what he is talking about? We need to have some past experience to bank on. Or perhaps someone to vouch for him. 

God wants us to trust in Him, to have faith in Him, to believe that if we place our lives in His hands, ALL things will better than if we don't. Most of us, instead of training our hearts to trust in God, go the other direction, and practice being anxious, even if most of what we worried about didn't happen. When I was pregnant, I would be anxious about all sorts of things. Something that kept me up at night just turned out to be hiccups! I didn't know babies had hiccups! But when I intentionally turned to God, and stilled my overwrought heart and mind, He comforted me. "When you hold your baby in your arms, you will see how much I love you." And true enough, everything turned out well. 

But what about those times when it doesn't? What if we lose our job? Our spouse gets a heart attack and the medical bills pile up? Our child gets into an accident? All the more, we have to turn to God, be still and trust in Him. 

Lord, may I always remember all you've done for me. You've answered my prayers, provided for me, surrounded me with good. During the hard times, may I not forget that You are a saving God, and You will save Your people. You will answer with Your saving strength (Psalm 20:6). 

Blessed if You Do Them

"If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them." John 13:17

What things? Jesus said this right after he washed the apostles' feet. He wrapped a towel around his waist, got down on his knees and did a servant's job. Are we supposed to go around with a towel washing other peoples' dirty feet and bunions? I doubt it. 

Most likely, we are supposed to take care of one one another. Serve one another. Love one another. Notice what others need and be there for them. It's not only feet that get dirty. Our hearts get tired, weary. If we see a brother or sister in need of some heart washing, we can be the one to provide it. We can pray for them, listen, give practical help, take them out, take care of the kids while they get some rest. Oh I wish I could be that person who notices! Who gets the towel out to wipe not only feet but blood, sweat and tears. 

Dear Jesus, what an example You gave for us! May we be like You, seeing what is needed and ready to serve!

Previous Posts

For my growing collection of prompts, 

inspirations, creative pursuits,

courageous artists and their art, join me here!

or on Facebook and Instagram

Joining the lovely Julia Dunnit for a 

peek at desks and projects!

I find a lot of inspiration

visiting my friends here:

Mondays @ Soul Survival
Small Wonders, Testimony Tuesday,  Titus 2 Tuesdays, 
Count Your Blessings, Word Art Wednesday, Wildly Original

 Unite,  Rubie Tuesday Link Up, Be Inspired

 A Little R and R,  No Rules Weekend Blog Party
Cheerleaders of our Faith, Reflect
Wow Us Wednesdays, Sitting Among Friends

The Weekly Creative, Three Word Wednesday
Great Blog Train Bloghop, Cheerleaders of Faith
Women with Intention Wednesdays

Thoughtful Thursday,  Hearts4Home Thursdays, Thought Provoking Thursday

Thriving Thursdays with Serving Joyfully

Thursday Favorites, Desire to Inspire Legacy Leaver Thursday
Beloved Brews Thursdays

Creative Things, Bloom! Soul Survival, Inspiration Gallery
Hearts for Home Thursday

Dance with Jesus Friday

Blessings!

Patsy  

Mustard Seed of Faith

I have not been able to paint much as I have been busy pricing for our coming garage sale. A friend of mine has been in a coma for several weeks and we are looking for ways to raise funds for the medical expenses. These are what I have priced so far. 

These are a pile of stuff I have yet to price! There are still some more in my garage! Thank God for generous brothers and sisters! Our garage sale will be on Sunday, May 21. I'm praying for a lot of sales! My friend is a young father with 4 young children. One can only imagine how the wife is coping! She needs a lot of supernatural strength and grace from God! 

"Whoever puts faith in me believes not so much in me as in Him who sent me..." John 12:44

In another version, we read, "If you trust me, you are really trusting God who sent me." Jesus continues with the words, "Whoever looks on me is seeing Him who sent me." 

It's difficult to trust and believe in someone we do not see or hear. But in Malachi 3:10, God says, "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it."

If we can test Him in our giving of tithes, we can also prove Him when it comes to His other promises. There are warnings in the Bible that we should not test God like the Pharisees did. They wanted to look for a way to trip Jesus up with His answers. But a lot of God's commands come with promises attached to them, and when we obey, it's like putting money in the bank. Obedience brings blessing. 

Father, I pray that I may nurture my little mustard seed of faith. I want to be like Peter who obeyed You when You told him to put out into the deep. Even when he had been fishing all night and caught nothing, Peter obeyed, and was rewarded with abundance. 

Previous Posts

For my growing collection of prompts, 

inspirations, creative pursuits,

courageous artists and their art, join me here!

or on Facebook and Instagram

Joining the lovely Julia Dunnit for a 

peek at desks and projects!

I find a lot of inspiration

visiting my friends here:

Mondays @ Soul Survival
Small Wonders, Testimony Tuesday,  Titus 2 Tuesdays, 
Count Your Blessings, Word Art Wednesday, Wildly Original

 Unite,  Rubie Tuesday Link Up, Be Inspired

 A Little R and R,  No Rules Weekend Blog Party
Cheerleaders of our Faith, Reflect
Wow Us Wednesdays, Sitting Among Friends

The Weekly Creative, Three Word Wednesday
Great Blog Train Bloghop, Cheerleaders of Faith
Women with Intention Wednesdays
Christian Blogger Link Up, Word Filled Wednesdays

Thoughtful Thursday,  Hearts4Home Thursdays, Thought Provoking Thursday

Thriving Thursdays with Serving Joyfully

Thursday Favorites, Desire to Inspire Legacy Leaver Thursday
Beloved Brews Thursdays

Creative Things, Bloom! Soul Survival, Inspiration Gallery
Hearts for Home Thursday

Dance with Jesus Friday

Blessings!

Patsy  

Signs of Life

"I give them eternal life and they shall never perish." John 10:28

The Jews were always asking signs from Jesus. "The works that I do in My Father's name, these bear witness of me," He told them. Catholics are also fond of asking for signs. My dad is a Methodist and as far as I know, they don't do that. My dad is 90 years old, and my mom passed away 3 years ago. He misses her a lot. He's also not in the best of health these days, having fallen a month and a half ago. 

Last Saturday, he was looking at her beautiful pictures, and he asked in his thoughts, "Where are you? Can you hear me? Can you see me? Give me a sign now." Instantly a bird flew in, like a bullet, straight towards him, then flew back from where it came from. The bird did this twice then left through the open window. My dad, in telling us this story, emphasized he did it as an "experiment". Experiment or not, it gave him comfort, as it could not have been a coincidence. 

Jesus' words and what He did while He was on earth are signs of God's love and what He wants for us. But they did not stop when Jesus died. He continues to work in our life in many wonderful and inexplicable ways. 

Thank You Lord for the gift of eternal life that begins right now, when we believe in You and follow You. Thank You for the many signs of Your love and faithfulness that You give us each day! 

A Full Life

"I came that they may have life and have it to the full." John 10:10

Sometimes when I'm invited to an eat-all-you-can buffet with sushi, shrimp tempura, lamb, wagyu beef, all sorts of desserts, etc., I don't eat much during the day. Then I eat as much as I can of my favorite dishes until I can't move. Once my nephew ate so much that he had to go to the toilet and vomit. That is not what Jesus meant when he said He came that we might have life to the full. He does not put a premium on us getting everything we want on earth. We may think that if we had unlimited money and resources, we would be the happiest people on earth but that is the farthest from the truth! 

St. Augustine of Hippo wrote in his confessions, "Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee." He wrote this after a life lived in pursuit of all his heart could desire. Augustine realized he could only find real peace and joy in a life lived in intimacy with our Creator. 

In the third chapter of Ecclessiastes, we can find these verses: "I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart." We all long for what is eternal, infinite. There is no escaping what some call the God shaped hole or vacuum placed in our hearts by God so we would search for Him, and in our searching, find Him. 

In John 37-38, Jesus said, "If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.'" The word "innermost being is the Greek 'koilos' which means hole or empty place. 

Lord, how wonderful that You desire only the best for us. Yes, I am thirsty. Fill the empty place inside me always with Your living water! 

Suffering

"If we put up with suffering for doing what is right, this is acceptable in God's eyes." 1 Peter 2:20

We don't hear about many verses on suffering, because they don't become favorites. We don't quote them, and we never put them on plaques and sell them in our stores. I doubt if people would want it up on their walls! But the truth is God's word is peppered with truths about suffering, and if we're part of God's people, it's inevitable. 

I am reading about the underground church in China and there is one man's testimony that is well known and verified by many church leaders there. His name is Enoch Wang, and he is one of the pastors that was spawned out of Watchman Nee's missionary zeal. Enoch spent more than 16 years in prison for the sake of the gospel. If that is not suffering, I don't know what is.

In 1997, when Enoch along with other church leaders were released from prison, they were going to hold a very important unity meeting so that the different house churches would be of one mind and heart. God revealed that was essential if they wanted to advance the gospel.  At that time, his family was being hunted by the police and they were in hiding. On the morning Enoch was to travel to the meeting his 15 months old baby fell from the 4th floor balcony! Enoch could see that his baby was dead, her head was smashed, and he could not bring her to the hospital or they would all get arrested. In desperation, he cried out to the Lord against what he felt was a demonic attack. "Lord, if it is your will for the church in China to be unified, then I pray you will put the breath of life back in her body. But if it is not Your will, I will hide myself and never preach again."

He then attended the meeting in defiance of the enemy. During the meeting, he fasted. When he returned home, his weeping wife was holding the lifeless body of their baby. When he prayed over the body, they heard a burping sound, and they continued to pray the whole night. The next day he left for the unity meeting again. For 4 days, Enoch continued to meet with the other leaders and each time he went home, the baby showed signs of improvement! In Enoch's testimony, he shares that his baby Sheng Ling was so smart, suffered no long-term damage and he invited everyone to visit them and see! 

Lord, You are a God who withholds no good thing. But it is also true that suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope (Romans 5:3-5). May we learn from whatever hardship You allow in our life. Teach us to be more than conquerors. After we have suffered a little while, You who have called us to Your eternal glory in Christ, will be the one to restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish us (1 Peter 5:10). 

 

WOYWW: Knowing Jesus!

I love my bits and pieces of scrap cloth,

buttons, crochet thread and laces! 

I took them out to bring to the hospital

while I watched my dad whose heart was being monitored. 

This is what I brought home.

I will turn them into purses. Next I shall come up with journal covers. I love them! Wish I had more time to make more! 

But not if that meant more time for my dad in the hospital! Thank God we brought him home the next day!

"Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me?" John 14:9

I can imagine Jesus asking me the same question! Oh how frustrated He is! He has lavished me with love, blessed me and shown me His face! Here he speaks to Philip. This is the same disciple who in the 1st chapter of John asked, "Can anything good come out if Nazareth?" After being with Jesus for some time, he still did not know Jesus. 

"Whoever has seen me has seen the Father," Jesus explained patiently. "Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?" Jesus said so much more, but with our own minds, perhaps we will never comprehend. We need the light of Christ to illumine His words, the Holy Spirit to breathe understanding into us (Job 32:9). But we must never lose hope. This Philip is now Saint Philip, whose feast day we celebrate today, along with Saint James the Apostle. He went on to preach in Greece, and Syria. Tradition has it that he was crucified upside down and continued to preach while thus tortured! I think we can say Saint Philip knew Jesus well enough to die for Him! 

Lord, yes You have been with me for so long. You are always faithful and have promised to never abandon me. You are my true friend because I know You want what is excellent for me, the very best. May I continue to get to know You more and more so I may serve and love You more and more. 

Previous Posts

For my growing collection of prompts, 

inspirations, creative pursuits,

courageous artists and their art, join me here!

or on Facebook and Instagram

Joining the lovely Julia Dunnit for a 

peek at desks and projects!

I find a lot of inspiration

visiting my friends here:

Mondays @ Soul Survival
Small Wonders, Testimony Tuesday,  Titus 2 Tuesdays, 
Count Your Blessings, Word Art Wednesday, Wildly Original

 Unite,  Rubie Tuesday Link Up, Be Inspired

 A Little R and R,  No Rules Weekend Blog Party
Cheerleaders of our Faith, Reflect
Wow Us Wednesdays, Sitting Among Friends

The Weekly Creative, Three Word Wednesday
Great Blog Train Bloghop, Cheerleaders of Faith
Women with Intention Wednesdays

Thoughtful Thursday,  Hearts4Home Thursdays, Thought Provoking Thursday

Thriving Thursdays with Serving Joyfully

Thursday Favorites, Desire to Inspire Legacy Leaver Thursday
Beloved Brews Thursdays

Creative Things, Bloom! Soul Survival, Inspiration Gallery
Hearts for Home Thursday

Dance with Jesus Friday

Blessings!

Patsy  

Praying the Bible

"Let Your face shine upon Your servant; save me in Your kindness." Psalm 31:16 

I have a difficult time memorizing Bible verses even if I do desire to do it. But then I find it difficult to even remember names! The thing is if we can remember verses, it would be much easier to pray. Like, I have a friend in the hospital and I am burdened because he has been in a coma for some weeks now. How do I pray for Him so that God hears and answers? Sometimes I have no words. I go to the Bible for the words. I am comforted because I can pray with all the people of God who have gone before me. I know God hears me because He heard the cry of Moses when he asked forgiveness for  his people's sins. God answered Elijah when the prophet prayed for the life of the widow's son to return. He answered Hannah when she was desperate for a son. 

The Words in the Bible are not ordinary words. The Bible is not an ordinary book. I know and have tested it for myself that the Word is life and medicine for my body (Proverbs 4:22). But it is much more than medicine. Jesus Himself said He was the bread of life. And John testified that the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us (John 1:14). 

Lord, thank You for scripture. It not only tells me of Your love for me, but when I pray using the Words in the Bible, I know my prayers are more effective and powerful. Indeed, even You quoted scripture in Your time of testing! Thank You for this bread. I shall never be hungry if I feed from it all the time! 

 

In His Image

"Let us make man in our image..." Genesis 1:26

This is absolutely amazing! When I look at God's creation, from the majestic mountains and magnificent sunsets to the tiniest insects and minuscule parasites, you see how perfectly designed everything is. Our earth can't be any closer or farther from the sun for life to be sustained. And it is the same for our bodies. We are not haphazardly made. God made us and of all He created, we are the crown. He made us in His image. Can we be any more special? I don't think so. 

In the 12th chapter of Mark, some Pharisees and Herodians asked Jesus, "Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?" 

Jesus answered, "Why are you testing me? Bring me a Roman coin to look at." When they brought one, He asked, "Whose likeness is on it?" They all had to answer, "Caesar's!"

And Jesus passed judgement, saying, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." After this, his opponents had nothing more to say. As a matter of record, they marveled at his answer. The Jews knew very well that in first chapter of the Torah, it taught that God made Adam, "btzelem elohim," in the Image of God. In effect, Jesus was telling them, "Give your whole self to the One Who has imprinted Divinity upon you!" 

Thank You Lord for I am precious in Your eyes. We belong to You, You made us for a purpose and in love. May we always treat others with the dignity and love we all deserve for we all brothers snd sisters of the same Father. 

Burning Hearts

"Were not our hearts burning inside us?" Luke 24:32

It should be our goal that when we read scripture, our hearts would burn inside us because we encounter the risen Lord. It is often said that the Bible is a compilation of God's love letters to us. He took thousands of years to tell us how much He loves us, and how He plans for us to be with Him one day. 

In Psalm 139, our Father says that He knows everything about us, when we sit and when we stand. He places a hand of blessing on our heads, and He formed us with infinite care. In Genesis, we learn that He is truly our Father and He made us in His image. In 1 John 3:1, He says that it is His desire to lavish love on us because we are His children. Every good gift we receive comes from His hand (James 1:17) and He wants to show us great and marvelous things (Jeremiah 33:3). If we delight in Him, He will give us the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:4) for He is able to do more for us than we can ever dare to ask, hope or imagine (Eph. 3:20).

And that's just a few verses from His love letter to us. If we read the Bible everyday, we will find more treasures that we can hold on to.

Lord, it is truly exciting to get to know You and how much You love me! May I delve more and more in Your Word so You can reveal more and more to me! 

The Early Church

"It is not right for us to neglect the Word of God..." Acts 6:2

The early church was not perfect, and there were complaints that needed to be addressed. One of them was about the distribution of food to the widows. The Twelve then proposed that those who were complaining, those who spoke Greek, would choose 7 men to be appointed to this task so they, the apostles, could concentrate on prayer and preaching. When these 7 prudent, spiritual men were chosen, the apostles laid hands on them to pray. 

Suddenly these apostles were leaders of a growing community. The increase in members was exponential. How did these men handle it? First, they knew their priorities, "It is not right for us to neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables." Second, they submitted their idea to the community, giving parameters. Then they pushed through with it when the community unanimously approved it. After that, they prayed over the men for God's blessing. 

Lord, help me to put you first in all my endeavors. If you called a bunch of fishermen, a tax collector, a zealot and tradesmen, to grow Your church, You can also call me to do things for You. May I always know my priorities, and look to You for guidance in all I do.