Find Joy

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Donna Faehling

        There’s an old hymn that says … “He walks with me and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own, and the joys we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known.” 

        Are you lonely today?  Do you feel abandoned and depressed?  Do the days drag on and your tears flow unheeded by anyone but you?  There is a Person who wants to have you lay your head upon His shoulder and tell Him what’s troubling you.  He waits to wrap you in His arms and replace your sorrow and loneliness, your fears and emptiness with peace, love and joy.  

        The Lord Jesus has a special, one on one relationship with each person who asks Him to be their Savior.  You, too, are invited to walk with Him and talk with Him and share the wonders and joys of being constantly in His loving presence.  He wants to enable us to see life with new eyes. 

“You will show me the path of life: in Your presence is fullness of joy, at your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.”        Psalm 16:11

        Those who don’t know the Lord and those who run from Him, choosing their own way, miss out on what real life is all about.  We can look for things to fill our days and our hearts, hoping to find joy in living.  Experiences, possessions and even relationships fail to fill that void that lies deep within us.  In the end we can find ourselves moaning with King Solomon that all is vain, empty of meaning and fulfillment.

        Only Jesus can fill the empty places, warm the heart, give hope and peace.   

        Only Jesus gives real joy.

        Living in His presence, realizing that He is there with us moment by moment, listening to His voice, resting in His arms, can fill our days with indiscribable joy. 

        His presense is a secret place that we share just with Him in the midst of our days, alone or in the middle of a crowd, no matter if the days are sunny or filled with storms.  His presence is our hiding place, our refuge, our reality. 

        We can be just like a little child who goes throughout her day in the presense of a loving parent.  She talks with her parent about anything and everything.  Fears, hurts, doubts and cares are all shared with the one who loves her unconditionally.  There are times of discovery and excitment, joys and delights as the parent opens her eyes to new knowlege and experiences.  Tears are gently wiped away, hurts are kissed and made better.  Cuddles, tickles and laughter abound.  The loving parent holds her hand and sometimes carries her, guiding her as they walk through the day together.  When its time for bed,  hugs and kisses are shared as the child is gently rocked to sleep and tucked in with prayer.  She feels loved, protected and secure.

“The secret [of the sweet, satisfying companionship] of the Lord have they who fear (revere and worship) Him, and He will show them His covenant and reveal to them its [deep, inner] meaning. My eyes are ever toward the Lord.”  Psalm 25:14,15

        I have been enjoying that kind of relationship with the Lord for many years.  I share everything with Him and He fills my life with love, joy and peace even in the most trying times.  I have experienced death of loved ones, separation from those I love, loneliness, heartache, persecution, disappointment, fear and pain.  I have also had times of great joy, delight and fulfilment.  Through everything my Jesus was there walking with me, holding me, loving me, guiding me, picking me up, encouraging me and whispering         “You belong to me, I love you, I am taking care of everything …. just trust in my love, power and grace.”

“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek, inquire for, and [insistently] require;  that I may dwell in the house of the Lord [in His presence] all the days of my life, to behold and gaze upon the beauty [the sweet attractiveness and the delightful loveliness] of the Lord and to meditate, consider, and inquire in His temple.  For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter: in the secret place of His tent will He hide me; He will set me high upon a rock. … in His tent I will offer sacrifices and shouting of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.”    Ps 27:4,5

“You have made known to me the ways of life; 

        You will enrapture me [diffusing my soul with joy] with and in Your presence.”

                                                                         Acts 2;28

We are never alone ….. He walks with us and talks with us and tells us we belong to Him!

 

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Hands of Love

Posted on September 3, 2012 by Donna Faehling

Ever held a baby’s hand? So small and perfect, smelling of sweetness. Their tiny hand grasps our finger tightly and we wonder at their strength, moved with the loving connection we feel. They reach out to touch, stretch and punch the air and we laugh. As they grow, those hands clasp onto everything, always curious, poking fingers into the smallest holes and manipulating anything of interest into their mouths. I gaze at them and wonder what all these hands will do over the lifetime of this new person.

         Our Jesus was once a tiny baby with sweet little hands. I can see Mary kissing those hands and Joseph proudly extending his finger for baby Jesus to grasp and pull.   I marvel that the maker and Lord of the universe chose to leave the splendor, atmosphere of perfection and complete love, position of all power and authority to come to this earth as a helpless baby.  And I think of those hands as they grew and stretched out to people in need.  Humble hands, powerful hands, serving hands, hands of unfailing and infinate love.

        Jesus spoke about many things while He was here on the earth.  He shared words of love and compassion.  He told of the Kingdom of God and how to be a part of it.  He expained God the Father and how He longed for a loving relationship with all.  He discribed how we could come into that relationship, actually becoming a part of His family.  His words touched, healed, comforted , convicted of need for forgiveness and redemption and brought peace where there had been fear and discouragement.

        His hands … ah, His wonderful hands … were the conduit of the overwhelming love He has for us.  Those baby hands grew into a man’s hands that reached out to bless and tenderly caress children that gathered around this loving Savior.

“And He took them [the children up one by one] in His arms and [fervently invoked a] blessing, placing His hands upon them.”  Mark 10: 16

        His hands brought healing and wholeness to the suffering, fearful and distressed.

“A leper came up to Him and, prostrating himself, worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You are able to cleanse me by curing me.  And He reached out His hand and touched him, saying, I am willing; be cleansed by being cured.  And instantly his leprosy was cured and cleansed.”                  Matthew 8:2,3

“A shining cloud [composed of light] overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My Son, My Beloved, with Whom I am [and have always been] delighted. Listen to Him!”   When the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were seized with alarm and struck with fear.  But Jesus came and touched them and said, Get up, and do not be afraid.  And when they raised their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.”     Matthew 17:5-8

“Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, Lord, have pity and mercy on us.  And Jesus stopped and called them and asked, What do you want Me to do for you?  They answered Him, Lord, we want our eyes to be opened!  And Jesus in pity (compassion(NIV)) , touched their eyes; and instantly they received their sight and followed Him.”                               Matthew 20:30, 32-34

“Now at the setting of the sun, all those who had any [who were]sick with various diseases brought them to Him, and He laid His hands upon every one of them and cured them.  And demons even came out of many people.”     Luke 4;40.41

“There was a woman there who for eighteen years had had an infirmity caused by a spirit ….  She was bent completely forward and utterly unable to straighten herself up or to look upward.  And when Jesus saw her, He called [her to Him] and said to her, Woman you are released from your infirmity!  Then He laid [His] hands on her and instantly she was made straight, and she recognized and thanked and praised God.”  Luke 13:11-13

“Just as He drew near the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out … the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a large gathering from the town was accompanying her.  And when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, Do not weep.  And He went forward and touched the funeral bier and the pallbearers stood still. And He said, Young man, I say to you, arise [from death]!  And the man [who was] dead sat up and began to speak.  And [Jesus] gave him [back] to his mother.”

        In each instance, you can invision how His loving hands moved compassionately to touch people where they were, in their own particular need?   Even the dead rose to new life at His touch.  I see him holding that young man and tenderly turning him towards his weeping mother.  What joy must have filled their hearts … no dry eyes in that crowd!

        Those same tender, compassionate hands were later to be pierced, nailed to a cross for you and me and all that have or will ever live on this earth.

“They pierced my hands and my feet.”  Psalm 22:16

        Jesus was crucified … for us!

        Jesus rose from the dead … for us!

        Jesus showed His hands to His frightened and questioning diciples as proof of His resurrection.

“Now while they were talking … Jesus Himself took His stand among them and said to them, “Peace  (freedom from all the distresses that are experienced as the result of sin) be to you!  But they were so strartled and terrified that they thought they saw a spirit.  And He said to them, “Why are you disturbed and troubled, and why do such doubts and questionings arise in your hearts?  See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself!  Feel and handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see that I have.  And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.”   Luke 24:36-40

        After having Thomas touch His hands and side and Thomas believed that He was truely alive again, Jesus said, “Blessed and happy and to be envied are those who have never seen Me and yet have believed and adhered to and trusted and relied on Me.”  (John 20:29)

         In an awsome passage in the book of Hebrews the writer quotes God saying to Jesus, “You, Lord, did lay the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heaven are the works of Your hands.  They will perish, but You remain and continue permanently; they will all grow old and wear out like a garment.  Like a mantle [thrown about one's self] You will roll them up, and they will be changed and replaced by others.”  (Hebrews 1:10-12) 

Of Jesus the writer said ” In the last of these days He has spoken to us in [the person of a] Son, Whom He appointed Heir and lawful Owner of all things, also by and through Whom He created the worlds and the reaches of space and the ages of time [He made, produced, built, operated, and arranged them in order].

He is the sole expression of the glory of God [the Light-being, the out-raying or radiance of the divine], and He is the perfect imprint and very image of [God's]nature, upholding and maintaining and guiding and propelling the universe by His mighty word of power.  When He had by offering Himself accomplished our cleasing of sins and riddance of guilt, He sat down at the right hand of the divine Majesty on High.”   Hebrews 1:2,3

        That same Jesus who made and sustains all things, holds us gently and tenderly in His all powerful hands.   We are protected, loved, secure and cherished.

Jesus said:  “I am the Good Shepherd, The Good Shepherd risks and lays down His [own] life for the sheep.  The sheep that are My own hear and are listening to My voice; and I know them and they follow Me.  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never lose it or perish throughout the ages.  [To all eternity they shall never by any means be destroyed.]  and no one is able to snatch them out of My hand.”  John 10:11, 27,28

 Father, thank you for the wonderful hands of Jesus!

Let us “lift up holy hands” and praise Him forever!

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People of Worth

Posted on July 15, 2012 by Donna Faehling

Sarah gave me a picture.  It was a page out of her coloring book.  Folded into a small square, as my granddaughters are apt to do, it was crammed into a clear wrapper from a sugar cookie that she had eaten for her snack.  Two chubby little kittens happily played tennis, unaware of the red crayon scribbles that covered the page.  I loved it!  Smiling and squeezing her shoulder gently,  I told Sarah that it would hang in a special place on my frig among the other pictures from my granddaughters, treasures all …

        Sarah is not one of my granddaughters.  She lives in a nursing home, drives a mean wheelchair, varies her head gear between baseball caps and visors and always has a coloring book and crayons handy to create another masterpiece.   It may not seem so beautiful to the causual observer, but they don’t know the love behind these works of art. 

         Sarah may be crippled, her hands knarled and crooked from arthritis and her mind a little foggy at times …  sometimes it may be difficult to understand what she is saying if you don’t get close and really pay attention …  but Sarah loves the Lord and loves people.  Every week she invites or reminds someone to come to the Sunday services we have in the large attrium.  She sings in the choir as she holds her music four inches from her thick eye glasses.

        Sarah is a beautiful person … a person of worth, to God and to others!

        Only God knows her past, all the things, events and people that made her who she is. 

        Only God knows his plan and purpose for her life. 

        Only God knows what goes on in her heart.

        He loves her with a love that surpasses our imagination. 

         And some of that love flows out through Sarah … she blooms where she was carefully planted by her loving Father … dispite her circumstances.

                                                    *************************

        Mary gave me one of her special hugs today.  I always treasure the hugs of my granddaughters.  They bring sunshine and joy into my life.  It feels so wonderful to have those arms around me.  There is something about hugs that makes you feel surrounded by love.  

        Mary is not my granddaughter.   She lives in a nursing home surrounded by people much older than she.  Her days are spent in a wheel chair, she cannot use her legs, has to be helped in and out of bed and shares a small room with another woman.  Sometimes her roommate is not exactly what you would call warm and fuzzy.

        Mary is a ray of sunshine in an often gloomy place.  Like the early spring flowers that peek up out of the snow, she startles you and brings a smile to your face.  Mary is the cheerleader, the encourager, the hugger who brightens up the day for many others and gives you a feeling of being genuinely loved.  You just can’t be down too long in her presense.

        Mary is a beautiful person … a person of worth to God and to others!

        Only God knows her past, all the things, events and people that made her who she is.

        Only God knows his plan and purpose for her life.

        Only God knows what goes on in her heart.

        He loves her with a love that surpasses our imagination.

         And some of that love flows out through Mary … she blooms where she was carefully planted by her loving Father … dispite her circumstances.

                                                 *************************

        Lynn smiled at me today.  That smile warmed me clear to my toes!  Is there anything more beautiful, anything that can make you do a little dance inside like the heartfelt smile of your granddaughters?  It was a gift that I received gladly, knowing that it was from a heart full of love.

   Lynn is not one of my granddaughters.  She lives in a nursing home and races around in a motorized wheelchair that she guides by pushing a tiny control stick with the one hand she has some control over.  The rest of her body shakes uncontrollably.  Although she tries really hard to communicate, her words seem garbled to most.

        Lynn is always in the church services, unless she is sick.  Anytime you see her, she radiates love … her smile seems to be the most reliable thing she can exercise.  Lynn loves the Lord and the love that she has covers those around her like warm honey.  What a joy she is to have around!  She says more with that beaming smile than many say with a thousand words.

Lynn is a beautiful person … a person of worth, to God and to others!

        Only God knows her past, all the things, events and people that made her who she is.

        Only God knows his plan and purpose for her life.

        Only God knows what goes on in her heart.

        He loves her with a love that surpasses our imagination.

         And some of that love flows out through Lynn … she blooms where she was carefully planted by her loving Father.

        Oh, Father, I have the world!  I have my health, my independence, my loved ones around me.  I can go where I want to, eat whatever strikes my fancy, go to bed when I want to, work in my garden, play with my granddaughters.  I bathe myself, cook, work on the computer, read and sing (although it may not seem beautiful to others).  I drive my car, go shopping, take my granddaughters to the park and just generally enjoy my life.  I write, I talk (maybe too much??), I listen to my granddaughters stories as we cuddle.  My husband is my closest and dearest companion, we enjoy each other and do fun things together. 

         I am rich, I am thankful, I am blessed! 

         I too am a person of worth!  I am loved with a love that surpasses my imagination!

        Thank you, Father for the gifts, hugs and smiles to treasure ….  given from vessels that may be broken on the outside, seemingly set aside, but important in your heart and plan.

        Help me to bloom wherever you plant me!  Let your love flow from me to those around me.  Enable me to follow these beautiful women’s example to be content in my circumstances, because you love me and you are in control.  What more could I ask for ??

“For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.  (plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. [NIV])”  Jeremiah 29:11

 

 

 

 

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God Bless America

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Donna Faehling

“God Bless America” is the prayer on many peoples hearts at this trying time in our nation’s history.  We see so many things that need to be changed to bring freedom, righteousness and Godly values restored, that sometimes it seems overwhelming.  Yet God can turn things around.  God alone can bring real lasting change for the better!

        “God Bless America!”  When we pray that, we are in effect asking for God’s will to be done in America “as it is in heaven”.  That God would be honored and glorified in our lives and in our nation.

        If we don’t see blessing in our nation perhaps we need to look for a reason.  God promises to bless the nation that honors Him.  The question is … have we been honoring Him?  I can think of three things immediately that definately don’t honor or glorify the Lord – abortion, turning our backs on Israel and taking God and His Word out of every area of our nation, from schools and public squares to the military.  How arrogant we are before the Almighty Sovereign God of the universe.  A very long list could be made of specific areas where God has not been honored in our country!

       God made and sustains everything that is!  He gives everyone each breath that they take.  Does He not deserve to be worshiped and honored?

“For the word of the Lord is right; and all His work is done in faithfulness.  He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the loving-kindness of the Lord.

By the word of the Lord were the heavens made and all their host by the breath of His mouth.  He gathers the waters of the sea as in a bottle; He puts the deeps in storage places.

Let all the earth fear the Lord [revere and worship Him]; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded  and it stood fast.

The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nought; he makes the thought and plans of the peoples of no effect.

The counsel of the Lord stand forever, the thought of His heart through all generations.

Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen as His heritage.    Psalm 33:4-12

        Is the Lord our God?  Do we honor Him as individuals?  Do we honor Him as a nation in the people we elect to represent us and in the policies and practices we vote for and allow to become a part of our daily life as a nation? 

        God is the one we should celebrate on July 4th because He is the one who gave us this America the Beautiful and has blessed us so greatly throughout our history.  No country was blessed with the freedoms and abundance that has been lavished upon us.

        God longs to bless us!  Isaiah 30:18 says “The Lord [earnestly] waits [expecting, looking, and longing] to be gracious to you; and therefore He lifts Himself up, that He may have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you.  For the Lord is a God of justice.  Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are all those who [earnestly wait for Him, who expect and look and long for Him [for His victory, His favor, His love, His peace, His joy, and His matchless, unbroken companionship]!” 

        “If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, pray, seek, crave and require of necessity My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.”  2 Chronicles 8:14

        Since individuals make up our nation, we as individuals need to humble ourselves before God and turn from all the things that do not honor and glorify God in our nation.  As we earnestly pray and seek the Lord, He will forgive and will heal and bless this land that we love.

Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forever. From the rising of the sun to the going down of it and from east to west, the name of the Lord is to be praised!

The Lord is high above all nations, and His glory above the heavens!

Who is like the Lord our God, Who has His seat on high, Who humbles Himself to regard the heavens and the earth!

Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to Your name give glory, for Your mercy and loving-kindness and for the sake of Your truth and faithfulness!

Psalm 113:2-6, 115:1

 - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - -

The last verse of “My Country, Tis of Thee” puts it well:

Our fathers’ God, to Thee, Author of liberty,

To Thee we sing: Long may our land be bright

With freedom’s holy light;

Protect us by Thy might, Great God, our King! “

        Hear our prayer, Almighty God and our Father!

“God Bless America, land that I love!

Stand beside her and guide her,

thru the night with the Light from above!”

 

 

 

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Father

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Donna Faehling

        Father … a word that contains a world of meaning.   When you think of an ideal father what comes to mind?  He would love you unconditionally, protect you, guide you, take care of all your needs, enjoy spending time with you, be your chief cheerleader, comfort you, encourage you, listen and be interested in what’s going on with you, always “be there” for you … maybe you have other things you could add to the list.

        Whether your father was wonderful – or not, filled all these criteria on our list - or not, there is a Father that loves you beyond all measure and longs for an intimate relationship with you … One that will hold you close, listen to your concerns, take care of you, guide and protect you and fulfill every item on anyone’s list of the perfect Father.  The great thing is, if you’re not already in His family, He has made it possible for you to become His child!

“As many as did receive and welcome Him (Jesus), He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name.”   John 1:12

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”   1John 3:1

        Remember when you were a child and kid’s would boast about who had the best, the bravest or the strongest father?  Well, when you have received the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are placed in the family of God and He has become your Heavenly Father.  You then have THE BEST Father!

        The Lord of the Universe, maker and sustainer of all that was, is and is to come … the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Almighty Sovereign God who is in control, loves you and is your Father! 

The Lord, my Father, is love …. I am loved, cherished, and treasured with a complete and perfect love! 

     “In this the love of God was made manifest (displayed) where we are concerned:  in that God sent His Son, the only begotten or unique [Son], into the world so that we might live through Him.

          In this is love:  not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (the atoning sacrifice) for our sins.

        And we know (understand, recognize, are conscious of, by observation and by experience) and believe (adhere to and put faith in and rely on) the love God cherishes for us.

        God is love, and he who dwells and continues in love dwells and continues in God, and God dwells and continues in him.  In this [union and communion with Him] love is brought to completion and attains perfection with us, that we may have confidence for the day of judgment [with assurance and boldness to face Him].

We love Him, because He first loved us.”

1 John 4:9, 10, 16, 17, 19

The Lord, my Father, is my Shepherd …. I shall not want for anything.

“The Lord is my Shepherd [to feed, guide and shield me], I shall not lack.”  Psalm 23:1

“He who did not withhold or spare [even] His own Son but gave Him up for us all, will He not also with Him freely and graciously give us all [other] things?”  Romans 8:32

“God will liberally supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”                   Philippians 4:19

The Lord, my Father, is the God of every comfort …. I am comforted and encouraged!

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, The Father of sympathy (pity and mercy) and the God [Who is the Source] of every comfort (consolation and encouragement).”      2 Corinthians 1:3

The Lord, my Father, is my peace … I am tranquil and at rest, trusting in Him!

“Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and  petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.

        And God’s peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in  Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:6, 7

The Lord, my Father is Almighty Sovereign God …  I can trust that He is in control.

“O Lord God Almighty, who is like you?  You are mighty, O Lord, and your faithfulnes surrounds you.” Psalms 89:8 NIV

“He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals His thoughts to man, He who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth – the Lord God Almighty is His name.”  Amos 5:7 NIV

“But as  for me, it is good to be near God.  I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge.”  Ps 73:28 NIV

The Lord, my Father is always with me … I am never alone, I have fellowship with Him.

“I am continually with You; You do hold my right hand.  You will guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to honor and glory.

Whom have I in heaven but You?  And I have no delight or desire on earth besides You.

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the Rock and firm Strength of my heart and my Portion forever.”                       Psalm 73;23 -26

“He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]“     Hebrews 13:5

“This fellowship that we have [which is a distinquishing mark of Christians] is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.”  1John 1:3

Because God is my Father …. I am blessed and thankful, filled with hope and joy!

“At all times and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.” Ephesians 5:20

“Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, Who loved us and gave us everlasting consolation and encouragement and well-founded hope through [His] grace (unmerited favor), comfort and encourage your hearts and strengthen them [make them steadfast and keep them unswerving] in every good work and word.”          2Thessalonians 2:16, 17

“To our God and Father be glory forever and every (through the endless eternitites of the eternities).  Amen (so be it).”  Philippians 4:20

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Freedom

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Donna Faehling

  How precious is freedom! 

        People long for it, pray for it, risk their lives for it.  In the past, men and women left their home countries, embarking on perilous journies to seek out freedom in far off lands and started new countries where they could live in freedom and peace.  Our United States was started by the dream of freedom.  Freedom to worship as we pleased, to live as we pleased, to live without oppression.  Great numbers have and still come to America, land of the free, looking for all that freedom gives.

        Freedom is not free!  

        Millions have sacrified and died to bring and preserve freedom over the years, not only in America, but in many other countries around the globe.  And the bloodshed goes on, that’s how precious freedom is to us.  The dream urges men forward to heroic sacrifice.  We honor the heroes, those that do battle and those who support them at home.

        Physical freedom is tenuous.

         Having lived in foreign countries where there were more restrictions and regulations, I realized how much we as Americans take our freedoms for granted.  We can come and go as we please, move wherever we want without permission, give our children names of our own choosing, start businesses, stay up as late as we want, take showers and wash clothes at any time of the day or night, wash our cars, live without fear of our government, and just generally live the life we choose to live within the reasonable limits of the laws we, the people, enact as a democracy.  We must always be vigilant to protect our freedoms from attacks from without and within.  The sacrifice of diligence must be made.  There are many who, out of hunger for power and greed, work relentlessly to take away our freedoms.

        The most important freedom is without cost to us!

        A greater sacrifice was made for a far greater, permanent, personal freedom.  The Lord Jesus Christ left His home in heaven and sacrificed His life here on earth so that we might have eternal freedom!  By shedding His blood and taking our punishment that we deserved for the sins that we have committed, He set us free!  Just as a condemned criminal who knows that he is guilty of the crime he is charged with, we stand in wonder that someone has stepped up to take the punishment we should have had to endure.  We are set free!  All we have to do is accept Jesus as our Savior from sin’s punishment and we can be free from not only the punishment but also the guilt of our sins.  God, the ultimate Judge, says Jesus’s sacrifice on our behalf has paid for our freedom!

So if the Son liberates you [makes you free men], the you are really and unquestionably free!  John 8:36

        We are not only freed from punishment for our sin, but free to not be a slave to sin as we were before we accepted Christ as our Savior, received His Holy Spirit to dwell within us and became children of God.  We are free to become all God originally meant us to be before we were entrapped by a sinful lifestyle.  Our hearts are changed, peace and joy flows in, love surrounds us and we breathe the fresh clean air of true freedom.

In this freedom Christ has made us free [and completely liberated us]: stand fast then, and do not be hampered and held ensnared and submit again to a yoke of slavery [which you have once put off].

For you, brethren, were [indeed] called to freedom; only [do not let your] freedom be an incentive to your flesh and an opportunity or excese [for selfishness], but through love you should serve one another.

Walk and live [habitually in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit]; then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature without God).

But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience, (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence).    (Galatians 5:1, 13, 16, 22, 23)

         As we choose to allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, we are free to have all these wonderful things become a part of us.  Jesus has delivered us to live a life that is truely wonderful and overflowing with blessings.  “God richly and ceaselessly provides us with everything for [our] enjoyment!”  1 Timothy 6:17.  

        We’ve been give the gift of eternal freedom! 

        That gift He gives us also includes freedom from the fear of death because He has freely given us not only abundant life now but glorious eternal life with Him!

        Since, therefore, [these His] children share in flesh and blood [in the physical nature of human beings], He [Himself] in a similar manner partook of the same [nature], that by [going through] death He might bring to nought and make of no effect him who had the power of death – that is, the devil – - And also that He might deliver and completely set free all those who through the [haunting]fear od death were held in bondage throughout the whole course of their lives.  Hebrews 2 14-15

The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Praise, Honor, Thankfulness and Love are due Him who lavished His love on us and set us free!

       

 

 

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Most Important

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Donna Faehling

        It was facinating to me to learn the German language.  Having only known English my whole life, diving into another language was an adventure.  I found that many times German wrapped up a world of meaning into one word.  It was very useful.  Upon returning to the States, I missed those words and grappled to find the many words that I now needed to get across the same idea that only one word had conveyed in German.

        The first Bible was not in English.  It was originally written in Hebrew (Old Testament) and in Greek (New Testament) which, like German, have great depths of meaning in each word or phrase.  The original Bible was greatly used by God a long time before it was translated into English in the 1300s.  

        You will notice that I love to use the Amplified Bible.  That’s because it brings out the richness and expanded meanings of the words in these languages.  It helps us understand the full meaning of the key words out of the original text, so that we see what the Hebrew and Greek reader would have instinctivelly understood.

        That really helps us with what I want to share with you in this blog …  the richness of God’s Word.  My desire is that together we would grasp hold of the same thing … the most important thing.  That is knowing … really becoming deeply and intimatly acquainted with the Lord Jesus Christ.

        As we progressively get to know Him better, we will love and enjoy Him more, finding great love, joy and peace.  We will become people of solid faith, hope and great expectations … because we know the Lord.  We will also please God and bring great glory to Him who is worthy of all our praise and thanksgiving.

        Knowing Jesus is the most important thing in our lives.  The whole Bible revolves around Him.  So should our lives.  God says that “in Him we live and move and have our being”.  Acts 17:28

        Nothing was as important to the Apostle Paul as the priceless privilege of knowing Jesus.  He said it best when he expresses the longing of his heart in the following passage:

I count everything as loss compared to the possession of the priceless privilege (the overwhelming preciousness,  the surpassing worth, and supreme advantage)

of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord 

and progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him 

[of perceiving and recognizing and understanding Him more fully and clearly]“ 

Philippians, 3:8

        It’s not that there weren’t other important things in Paul’s life that he needed or wanted to do.  It was that the utmost important, the thing that drove and motivated him most, was his deep desire and longing to know and become as close as possible to the One who loved him and had sacrificed Himself for him.  Other things paled in comparision.  To know Him better and love Him more was the point of his being.  It was his life like water is life to those in a desert.   In the Old Testament, King David expressed his need for the Lord like this:

“As the hart pants and longs for the water brooks,

so I pant and long for You, O God.

 My inner self thirsts for God, for the living God.”  

Psalms 42:1,2

        You know how it feels after playing basketball, running or having any physical activity on a hot summer day.  You can actually ache for a cool drink of water … and lots of it.  Gulping this refreshing liquid satisfies your thirst and invigorates you.  That’s how the Psalmist discribes his urgent need for the Lord. 

 ”O God, You are my God, earnestly will I seek You; my inner self thirsts for You, my flesh longs and is faint for You, in a dry and weary land where no water is.

 So I have looked upon You in the sanctuary to see Your power and Your glory.

 Because Your loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You.   So will I bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.

 My whole being shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips when I remember You upon my bed and meditate on You in the night watches.

 For You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings will I rejoice.

 My whole being follows hard after You and clings closely to You; Your right hand upholds me.”

Psalms 63: 1-8

To Know Him ……  

        To meditate on Him, Who He is, and what He means to me, 

         To talk with Him and strive to please Him with my thoughts, words and actions, 

           That is what’s Most Important in this life that I have been given.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Who Is Jesus?

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Donna Faehling

        Jesus …. a name, a person … so precious that mere words can’t express all He is or all He means to those who know Him.

        For many years I searched for peace, for love, for something or someone to fill the emptiness deep inside.  I loved and was loved dearly by my husband and my family … yet there was still that longing, that felt need that I couldn’t even discribe … a hunger for meaning, for security beyond anything another person could give me, for a belonging that eluded me.  What was missing?

        Then I was drawn to really looked at Jesus as if for the first time and I was captivated.  I had heard about Him all my life, read about Him, had other people tell of who He is and what He meant to them.  But it was as if that all just blew past my window on the wind, never touching me.  But now … now I was enabled to see with my heart as well as my mind.  A knowing flowed over me and through me.  Here was Jesus … my Jesus … live and present and real, not a historical, removed Jesus.  Through listening to and reading the Bible, I came face to face with the real, intimate Jesus and His love captured me, filled me and never let me go!

         Jesus said:

“I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance ( to the full, till it overflows).

“I am the Good Shepherd.  The Good Shepherd risks and lays down His [own] life for the sheep.  I am the Good Shepherd; and I know and recognize My own, and My own know and recognize Me.”  John 10:10,11,14

        I recognized what or rather Who I needed to fill up that yawning hole in me … Jesus!  He was what was missing in my life.  I was lost without Him.

Jesus .. His name means Savior,

“for He will save His people from their sins [that is, prevent them from failing and missing the true end and scope of life, which is God].

          ”Behold, the virgin shall become pregnant and give birth to a  Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel — which , when translate, means, God with us.”  Matthew 1:21,23 

        I was overwhelmed when I realized what He had done … for me! 

        This Jesus left His glory in His heaven, came down to the earth that He made … to suffer the punishment that I deserved for my sin.  He gave up everything … for me … so that I could be filled up with His lavish love … forever!  So that I could know and enjoy Him, walk with Him and bring joy to Him.  All I had to do was accept Him … my Savior, my gift from God … and He gave me a “life that is truely life”!

        Free from fear of punishment for my sins,  free to be forgiven, free from the power of sin, free from fear of death, free from emptiness, free to be … all He has planned for me to be, free to enjoy Him and overflowing life now and for all eternity.  That’s what He gave me!  And so much more!

“But God – - so rich is He in His mercy!  Because of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us,  even when we were dead by [our own] shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ: 

[He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him, for] it is by grace (His favor and mercy which you did not deserve) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakders of Christ’s salvation).”Ephesians 2:4,5

        Jesus is my Savior!  I belong to Him and in Him I have love and abundant, overflowing life and joy … no matter what the circumstance.  Because He is with me, I have everything that I need.

 ”May grace (spiritual blessing) and peace be given you in increasing abundance [that spiritual peace to be realized in and through Christ, freedom from fears, agitating passions, and moral conflicts].

Praised (honored, blessed) be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah)!  By His boundless mercy we have been born again to an ever-living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  [Born anew] into an inheritance which is beyond the reach of change and decay [imperishable], unsullied and unfading, reserved in heaven for you, who are being guarded (garrisoned by God’s power through [your] faith [till you fully inherit that final] salvation that is ready to be revealed [for you] in the last time.

Without having seen Him you love Him; though you do not [even] now see Him you believe in Him and exult and thrill with inexpressible and glorious (triumphant, heavenly) joy!”                1 Peter 1:2-5, 8

Jesus is Hope, Love, Joy, Peace and so much more!

Rejoice!

 

 

 

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I Wonder

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Donna Faehling

I wonder what would happen if … I … ??

I wonder what would happen if … I look for treasures along my way each day ??

                                                              I care more about others than about myself ??

                                                              I give without wanting anything in return ??

I wonder what would happen if … I trust in the Lord with all my heart ??

                                                              I love the Lord my God with all my being ??

                                                              I delight myself in the Lord ??

I wonder what would happen if … I forgive as I am forgiven by God ??

                                                              I love as I am loved by God ??

                                                              I commit my way to the Lord ??

I wonder what would happen if … I do everything in the name of Jesus ??

                                                             I do all things through Christ, Who strenthens me ??

                                                             I look for ways to bless others each day ??

I wonder what would happen if … I listen more ??

                                                              I pray before I speak ??

                                                              I pray for people instead of gossiping about them ??

I wonder what would happen if … I count my blessings instead of my problems ??

                                                              I pray without ceasing ??

                                                              I give thanks in every thing ??

I wonder what would happen if … I realize how much Jesus loves me ??

                                                              I acknowledge the constant presense of Jesus ??

                                                              I see Him face to face … today ??

I wonder …

Selah …

 

 

 

 

 

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One Day At A Time

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Donna Faehling

        Did you spend a lot of today anticipating or worrying about tomorrow?  Have you wasted a lot of time you could have used more wisely, anxiously looking toward what might be?  You might miss many opportunities to enjoy today because you are living in tomorrow. 

        To truly live life to its fullest today we need to be able to trustingly put tomorrow in God’s hand and rest in His unfailing love for us.  He alone is in control and can work things out for our good and His glory.

        Anticipation, expectations, joy and excitement that are based on Who our Father is and how much He cares for us bring joy today and great hope for tomorrow.  We are free to live each moment … live in the now … unhindered by doubts and fears of what might come in the future.  Enjoy the time you are given, this present moment.  Let God take care of tomorrow.  “In His hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind”  (Job 12:10)

“Therefore I tell you, stop being perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink; or about your body, what you shall put on.  Is not life greater [in quality] than food, and the body [far above and more excellent] than clothing?

Look at the birds of the air:  they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them.  Are you not worth much more than they?

And who of you by worrying and being anxious can add one unit of measure to his stature or to the span of his life?

And why should you be anxious about clothes?  Consider the lilies of the field and learn thoroughly how they grow; they neither toil nor spin.  Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his magnificence (excellence, dignity, and grace) was not arrayed like one of these.

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and green and tomorrow is tossed into the furnace, will He not much more surely clothe you, O you of little faith?

Therefore do now worry and be anxious, saying, What are we going to have to eat? or, What are we going to have to drink? or, what are we going to have to wear?

…. Your heavenly Father knows well that you need them all.  But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these thing taken together will be given you besides.

So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow!

 Today Not Tomorrow

Not enough time,                                                                                                                            Not enough money, Hoping on tomorrow …

What will happen?                                                                                                                           Can I change it? Hoping on tomorrow …

Straining toward better days,                                                                                                        No more worry, Hoping on tomorrow … 

Reaching for happiness,                                                                                                  Satisfaction eludes me, Hoping on tomorrow …

I hope, I dream, I imagine,                                                                                                     When, where, what? Hoping on tomorrow …

 

Will I, won’t I, can I?                                                                                                                     Will it, won’t it, can it? Hoping on tomorrow …

I will attain, I will be complete,                                                                                                       I will have that, I will be rewarded, Hoping on tomorrow …

Will he be here, will I be alone?                                                                                                  Will I suffer, what of those I love? Hoping on tomorrow …

“I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]”  (Hebrews 13:5)

Satisfied, at peace, tomorrow in good hands,                                                           Contentment achieved! Living in Today!

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The Easter Gift

Posted on March 31, 2012 by Donna Faehling

        Dozens of cute little figurines of bunnies, ducklings and chicks frolicked along the three long shelves in the upscale thrift shop.  A wave of pastels greeted me upon entering and wrapped around the first room of the unique store.  Scattered among the laughing faces were decorated baskets, multicolored eggs, spring flowers and stuffed animals.  Easter was in glorious full bloom.

        A soft yellow bunny, with one long pink ear flopped over his eye, peered down at me as I stooped to gaze at the collection on the bottom shelf.

        A glimpse of deep purple drew my attention to something out of place with the cloud of lighter colors.  Toward the back of the shelf, surrounded by the merry little animals, stood a lone figure in sharp contrast to all the others.

        Riveted, I bent closer.  The agony and determination on the figure’s face pulled at my heart.  Royal purple hung loosely from his bowed, straining shoulders as he stuggled forward through the unseeing crowd of gleeful celebrants.  The rough and weathered wood of the cross he was carrying and the sharp crown of thorns upon his head contrasted sharply with the surrounding pastel frivolity.

        Unaware and eager to elicit joy in their children and grandchildren, shoppers milled around me, choosing gifts from the colorful menagerie.

        I couldn’t help but think how the greatest gift of all time was being overlooked, shoved to the back of the bottom shelf. 

        Ignored and forgotten in the traditions of the holiday, the solitary figure pushed onward .

     Look at Him!

“Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus …. He, for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”  Hebrews 12:2

No matter the cost … deserted, tortured and mocked,

      my Savior determinedly moved toward His sacrificial death … for me!

          To bring indescribable joy to those who recieve His gift, He suffered … for me!

                   In majestic triumph He won victory over sin and death … for me!

                           In a blaze of glory He rose to heaven and will return again … for me!

        Jesus said:

“I came that they may have and enjoy life and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)!  (John10:10)

“Now thanks be to God for His Gift, [precious] beyond telling [His indescribable, inexpressible, free Gift]!” (2Cor. 9:15)

REJOICE!

 

 

 

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No Worries

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Donna Faehling

        Like most children our son was always “starving” when he came home from school.  He had no doubt in his mind that I’d have something yummy waiting for him to eat the minute he got home.  He also knew he’d have breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Dad made the money to buy the food.  Mom went to the store, bought it, brought it home and prepared it so that his growling little tummy was always fed and his body nourished with all he needed to be healthy and satisfied. 

        Our little son also gave no thought about a home in which to live, a bed to sleep in or clothes to wear.  He just knew that those things were provided for him along with everything else that he needed in his young life.  He knew he was loved, and he trusted us explicitly.  You could say that his eyes were figuratively fixed on us to satisfy all his desires.  Any little child of a loving parent has no worry whatsoever that all of his needs will be taken care of.  It never occurs to him to even think about it.  He takes it for granted.

        I remember once when our son wanted me to buy him something and I’d tried to explain that we couldn’t afford it right then.  He looked up at me and very calmly and trustingly said “But you still have checks in your checkbook!” … like he needed to remind me.  :-)  Today my grandchildren would say, “But Oma, you have lots of credit cards!” 

        In a child’s mind his parents have unlimited resources.  That might not have been true of us, or of you, but it is true of our sovereign, all powerful heavenly Father who truly does have wealth without measure.  Not only does His checkbook never run out of checks, He owns the bank that backs up the checks and credit cards and it never runs out of funds.  

        Because our Father is wealthy beyond imagination, we also have wealth and no need to worry.  We can keep our eyes, our mind, our heart and our trust fixed on Him and know that He will never fail us!  “But my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign LORD….” (Ps. 141:8).   As Sovereign LORD He has the absolute right and power to do anything to carry out His purposes for us!

        We can live a life of security, carefree because our Father is our provider. “The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing” (Ps. 145:15.16).

        Do you have a need today?  Do you wonder where you will get the money to pay your bills?  Are you worrying about tomorrow?  If you have received the Lord Jesus as your Savior, you are God’s child and He promises to take care of you.  You can respond to His marvelous love with the simple, yet profound trust and faith of a child, that He is taking care of everything.  Just talk to Him about it and trust……

“See what [an incredible] quality of love the Father has given (shown, bestowed on, (lavished on, NIV)) us, that we should [be permitted to be named and called and counted the children of God! An so we are!” (1 John 3:1)

 

(Based on excerpt from my ebook “Living A Jesus Lifestyle”.  Click excerpt tab.)

       

 

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Precious

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Donna Faehling

        In the late fall of 1989 the world was astounded as television news broadcast the amazing images of the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe.  Our family was privileged to be living in Germany at that time and see first-hand the results of God moving to throw open the doors to these countries so that His wonderful Word could penetrate the darkness.  One evil regime after another fell and people rejoiced in new-found freedom. 

        One country that had suffered greatly was Romania.  After twenty four years of tyranny under the torturous dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu, this country and the many Christians belonging to underground churches there were finally free.  This man and his wife had destroyed whole villages and put poison in the water systems of others to rid themselves of those that opposed them and to reorder the society.  Orphanages were crowded to overflowing.  These and other stories about the persecution, deprivation, torture and death of Christians because of their faith in Jesus Christ streamed out to the world.

        In an effort to reach out to these dear believers a group of Christian churches in Southern Germany banded together.  Gathering many trucks, vans and even a train, they filled them with thirty tons of clothing, fifty tons of food, two tons of medicine and seven thousand Bibles and Christian books!  My husband, Karl, was privileged to take part in this endeavor.  He and a German friend drove a large van packed full of many needed items along with some boxes of Bibles and Christian literature. 

        Early on a chilly March evening, after a lengthy commissioning prayer service, my son and I watched the caravan of four large trucks and eleven vans drive off heading toward the Hungarian border.  Around us fires flickered on the mountain tops where other Germans were celebrating the coming of Spring by conducting ceremonies to drive away the evil winter spirits.  Our small group of believers in the Maker of the seasons was praising God in the valley below for what he was doing to bring provisions for body and spirit to our brothers and sisters in Romania. 

        That trip held a number of blessed times for my husband.  They were able to meet many pastors and believers who received them and the provisions they brought with tears of joy and gratitude.  Coming from a land of plenty only a few hundred miles away, Karl and those he traveled with were appalled at what they saw everywhere they went and at the stories that were shared with them.  They were greatly touched by these people of deep faith who had endured terrible living conditions, hunger, torture, and the disappearance of pastors and family members into prisons.

        At one point Karl was humbled and thankful to be asked to preach to a gathering of over five hundred people hungry to hear the Word of God.  People crowded inside the building till many had to stand outside listening through the open windows.  The service lasted four hours and two precious souls came to Jesus for salvation that day.  There was much singing and rejoicing that the Word could be preached freely and that they could meet openly without fear. 

        Another of the most moving moments for Karl happened by the side of a muddy disaster of a road somewhere in the foothills of the Carpathian mountains.  He and his new Romanian partner had driven through ruts and potholes as far they could into the village and had to stop the van a short way from the local pastor’s house.  There, eager believers helped them unload boxes of food and medicine to be distributed to the desperate church members and other needy families in that area.

        Karl noticed one elderly lady who came up to the side of the van.  She kept tearfully talking with his partner as they handed out boxes.  It turned out that she was asking if they had any Bibles and pleaded to be given one.  Upon hearing this, Karl immediately pushed aside a number of boxes and crawled to the front of the van where there were a few large boxes of Bibles.  Taking a Bible out, he crawled to the doors and jumped out into the mud to stand before the lady.  He handed her the Bible which she tenderly grasped in wonder.  With tears streaming down her cheeks, she told them how she had prayed all her life to have a Bible.  Clutching the precious Word of God to her breast, she praised God and thanked these men for giving her a treasure far more needful to her than food or medicine.

        We found out later that in many places whole churches shared one Bible or parts of a Bible.  Many times one Bible would be taken apart into many sections and distributed to all the believers.  Each one would read, copy and memorize a chapter or passage and then pass it on to another.  So precious and dear was the Word of God to these that suffered under tremendous trials.  It was their spiritual food and drink to strengthen and guide them and teach them about their wonderful Lord.

 ”Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart; for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts!”  (Jer. 15:16 KJV)

(Excerpt from my ebook “Living A Jesus Lifestyle” , check out link)

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Tune In

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Donna Faehling

“Are they really listening to me?”

        How many times have you wondered if someone was paying attention to what you were saying?  The sound was coming out of your mouth, traveling into their ears but they just didn’t seem to “be there” with you.  You want to be understood, so sometimes you talk louder, thinking maybe that will get through to them.

        The dictionary enlightens us as to the difference between hearing and listening.  To hear is to perceive or apprehend sound, to recieve communication.  What a wonderful thing it is to be able to hear!  Ah, but the blessing is also when someone listens … they pay attention to that sound, hear with thoughtful attention, give consideration to what they heard and actually tune in to the message … obsorbing and pondering it.

        Women have a unique listening ability when it comes to their children.  They are attuned to each whimper, sigh, gurgle or cry of their babies.  They are so intimately aquainted and involved with their baby that each sound, each vocal nuance and even bits of body language tells them what the baby is trying to communicate.  To others it is just baby sounds and crys.

        As the child developes language skills the mother understands what others might not be able to decipher.  Throughout the life of her child the mother just seems to know what’s behind the words, hears right to the heart of what is being said.  It’s a kind of God given discernment.

        Men may or may not have that ability.  Some, however, seem to have an uncanny ability to listen to and understand cars :-)    Once I was driving and my husband was riding in the passenger seat (trying to relax) when the car started making a kind of whiny noise.  “What’s going on?” I exclaimed.  He calmly gave me some technical explanation and said some dinga-whatever had to be checked out. …  I didn’t have a clue what he was talking about!   Have you ever heard men talking about the sounds a car is making and they all seem to know by the squeak, whine, clatter, clacking or thumping what’s wrong with it?  I just tune out … it’s just noise to me  :-)

        We all want to be heard, but most of all we want to be listened to and understood.  When we have something to say that is important to us, when we are hurting, confused, and have heartaches or want to share something funny or joyful, we need someone to be able to empathize, really understand and care about and appreciate what’s going on.  If only others could read our hearts and the thoughts we can’t even put into words.

        We all need to be better listeners.  We certainly would have better relationships if we would pause in our own thoughts and busyness and thoughtfully pay attention to what others are saying.

        I’ve found that the Lord is the greatest listener of all!  When all others fail to really listen when you need someone to talk with, know that He is always there for you.  He not only always hears you but He truly tunes in to what you are saying.

“But certainly God has heard me; He has given heed to the voice of my prayer.  Blessed be God, Who has not rejected my prayer nor removed His mercy and loving-kindness from being [as it always is] with me.”  (Psalms 66:19,20)

        My grandmother used to say “clean your ears out, girl, and listen to what I say”.  Many places in the Bible it refers to ”giving ear” to what is said.  In other words, pay attention, listen with your heart, think about what is being said.  God “gives ear” to what we share with Him.  He thinks about and cares about what’s on our heart because He loves us so much.

        “Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my sighing.  Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.” (Ps. 5, 1,2 NIV)

” I call on you, O God, for you will answer me; give ear to me and hear my prayer.  Show the wonder of your great love…”    (Ps 17: 6,7a NIV)

As a mother is attuned to every sound her baby makes, so our Father listens attentively and with understanding to what we have to say.  He even knows our unverbalized thoughts.  

“O LORD, you have searched me [thoroughly] and have known me.  You know my downsitting and my uprising; You understand my thought afar off … For there is not a word in my tongue [still unuttered, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether." (Ps 139:1,2)

"But only with God are [perfect] wisdom and might; He alone has [true] counsel and understanding.” (Job 12:13)

Dear reader, Our Father cares about what’s on your heart ….

He wants you to come to Him with your joys and sorrows, your questions and troubles ….

He is so intimately aquainted and involved with you that He is always tuned in to what is on your mind and is listening with complete understanding ….

He will put His arms around you, answer your prayers and help you ….

Because He Loves You :-)

       

       

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Why Worry??

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Donna Faehling

        While living across the world from all our family and loved ones, my husband and I always looked forward to speaking to them on the phone and catching up on our lives in real time.  Mail really did seem like it came to us at a snail’s pace so the news was not really “up to date”.

        Phone calls often bring joy, but sometimes they bring news that shakes up our lives.  I remember five calls that came during the second year we were missionaries living in Germany.  Each one could have turned on the worry machine and set it on high.    

        The first call came two days after I returned to Germany after taking our son back to the states to enter college.  It was from my brother telling us that my husbands mother had passed away. The second came a few months later to tell us that my father was having triple by-pass surgery.  In neither case were we financially able to return to the states to be with our loved ones in those times of heartache and trial.

        Soon after that our son called to let us know he had broken his foot, was in terrible pain and would have to have a cast and walk with crutches for some time.  If you are a mother you know that my first heart reaction was to want to take care of him.  I hurt for his hurt, but could not be with him.

         Only a few days later we received a call from my father-in-laws’ doctor.  He told my husband that if he wanted to see his father, he should come to the states immediately.  His dad had to undergo emergency surgery and might not live through it.  This time the Lord provided us with the extra money needed and he spent two weeks with his dad.  Thinking Dad would recuperate well, my husband came back to Germany.  A few weeks later we received our fifth call telling of the passing of my father-in-law. 

        During that time we were living in a tiny appartment in a small town where we knew no one and I could speak only a little bit of German.  Alone and not being able to help in all of these situations, we were comforted, strengthened and given amazing peace from the only One who could help us.  Our Lord loved us and loved those we loved and had all of these things in His hands.  As we took each person and each circumstance, our pain and sorrow to Him in prayer, that reassurance took all the worry away and flooded our beings with a peace that can’t be discribed. 

        We found that as we came to God and laid it all before Him, thanking Him for being there with us, loving us and taking care of everything, we proved the promise given to all believers in Phil. 4:6:

Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.  And God’s peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

        I’ve found that worry often comes when we can’t control people or situations.  We think out solutions down to the tinest details.  If it doesn’t go that way, we wallow it around till it makes us miserable.  Many times we actually make ourselves sick – in mind and body – by worrying.  We forget that God knows what we are going through, what we need and He alone can give us that peace and assurance that He is indeed working everything out for good for those that love Him.  Worry is the opposite of trust.

        In His Word God tells us:

“Let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ's] one body you were also called [to live].  And be thankful (appreciative), giving praise to God always.” (Col. 3:15)

        How much time do we waste, how much grief do we put ourselves through worrying about things that we have no control of or that we shouldn’t try to control.   Later when things have been resolved we wonder why we put ourselves through that suffering when God was taking care of everything all along and we should have trusted Him.  We don’t know the future … God does.  And He alone has the power to cause everything to work out for the best and for His glory. (Rom. 8:28)  We need to let go, trust God and let the peace flow in.  It’s our choice.

        I don’t know why my husband’s parents had to die at that time.  I do know his mom allowed him to explain the way of salvation to her for the first time before we left for Germany the year before … his dad accepted the Lord as his Savior two weeks before he left this earth … our son came through fine …  and my Dad is still in great health some 22 years later. 

        Some answers we won’t get till we go to heaven.  Then we will understand and be glad we trusted our loving Father. 

        What has you worried today?  Are you concerned about a loved one?  Looking at a pile of bills and wondering how you are going to pay them?  Is one of your children giving you an ulcer?  Are you concerned that you may have a serious medical problem?  Have to move to get a new job?  Lost your job?  There are so many big and little things to worry about!  Right? 

        Every life has its storms and protracted times of trouble.  No one is exempt.  Since that is so, how are we to handle these situations?  Where do we look for answers, where do we get our help?  We have some choices to make. 

        When he was a small boy,  our son learned a little song in Sunday School that has stuck with me all these years: 

Why worry when you can pray???

Trust Jesus, He’ll be your stay!

Don’t be a doubting Thomas, rest upon His promise!

Why worry, worry, worry, worry, when you can pray!!

        Isaiah 26:3,4 is another key to living a life of peace amidst the storms.  I memorized it long ago and it has been a reminder and encouragement to me throughout my life:

“You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its incination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You and hopes confidently in You.  So trust in the Lord (commit yourself to Him, lean on Him, hope confidently in Him) forever; for the Lord God is an everlasting Rock [the Rock of Ages].”

        I leave you today with my prayer for you: “Now may the Lord of peace Himself grant you His peace ( the peace of His kingdom) at all times and in all ways [under all circumstances and conditions, whatever comes}.  The Lord [be] with you all.”

        And two last loving statements from Jesus to you: 

“Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you.  Not as the world gives do I give to you.  Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.  [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.]” (John 14:27)

I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence.  In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]!  For I have overcome the world.  [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.] ” ( John 16:33)

 

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Tear Down That Wall

Posted on February 24, 2012 by Donna Faehling

  On Jun 12, 1987 President Ronald Regan, referring to the Berlin Wall, challenged Soviet leader Gorbachev to “tear down this wall!”.  That infamous wall was built to keep the citizens of East Germany in and the influences of freedom and liberty out.  Almost two years later on November 9,1989, the first 30 sq feet of that wall was finally torn down by the very people that had been kept prisioners within it.  People who had been under bondage for 28 years behind that wall came flooding out to freedom on a wave of euphoria.

        My husband and I witnessed this momentous occasion the first year we were missionaries in Germany.  The elation, celebration and joy that coursed through that reunited land was overwhelming.  That date marked a grand beginning of reunions of family and friends after many years of separation and reunited a whole country.

        It was amazing to watch the reaction of the East Germans as they flooded into the freedom of the west.  As a welcome and greeting they were given 100DM welcome money and the price of bananas, a rarity in the east, went up 10% due to the high demand!  The people walked around as in a daze at all the wondrous sights and products that were only a dream to them in the poverty plagued communist east.  Now these people saw hope for their future, the possibilities seemed endless.

        Newspapers blazed headlines that summed up the general feeling and atmosphere: “The Air is full of Joy!” … “Weekend of Unbounded Freedom!” …  “Opening of Wall Symbolizes Downfall of  Barriers.”  The people from both sides of that wall were ecstatic! We saw heart moving pictures of people tearing down the wall with hammers, picks and anything available, then climbing through the holes over the rubble into the light of freedom … leaving the darkness behind.

        Walls that bar people from freedom and hope are terrible things.  Many walls are put up around people by totalitarian governments, other walls are of our own making. 

        Perhaps you have been hurt badly by someone you loved and trusted, someone who should have loved you and looked out for your best interests.  Have you had sorrow after sorrow in your life?  Maybe you have been abused, molested, torn down physically, mentally and emotionally so that you have made a habit of protecting yourself in any way you can from allowing it to happen again.  Has your heart become hardened to guard against being hurt?  Walls that have been errected to keep out harm have also kept you from living a life of freedom to be all you were meant to be, a life of contentment, joy and great expectations for your future.

        It may seem that those walls are made of concrete as strong as the Berlin wall, reinforced with steel bars.  But just as that barrier to a life of hope seemed impossible to overcome, your walls can come down!  You can be released from your self imposed prision and breathe the fresh air of hope, love and freedom. 

        You can live so long behind those walls that it feels safe and comfortable to a certain extent.  You guard against the risk of letting others in.  But there is still longing for a better life. 

        God can give that to you … if you give Him your walls to tear down.  

        He will enable you to overcome those barriers to a joyful life, to come out from the dark night of your imprisonment and jump over the rubble of your walls into the light!

“He brought me forth also into a large place; He was delivering me becaue He was pleased with me and delighted in me.  For You deliver an afflicted and humble people … You cause my lamp to be lighted and to shine; the Lord my God illumines my darkness.  For by You I can run through a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.”  (Ps 18:19,27-29)

        Our Father loves you, He delights in you as His child.  He understands why those walls are there, He cares about what put them there.  He is also willing and able to do anything that is needed to take down those walls.  Jesus is waiting for you to come to Him with all those pains, all that suffering and to have you lay it over onto His shoulders.  “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows and pains…” (Is. 53:4) 

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]” (Matt. 11:28)

        Jesus holds out His strong yet tender arms of love, ready to take your pain and sorrows, your fears and heartaches and tear down the walls they have caused in your life.

“So If the Son liberates you [makes you freemen], then you are really and unquestionably free.” (John 8: 36)

        He will enable you to overcome the fears of letting yourself be vunerable again, to love and be loved, to risk opening up yourself to others, to new relationships, to new experiences, to new life.

“Be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides].”  (Eph. 6:10)

Take that first step to liberty today!  Let go!  Trust Him and be free!

“Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares for you watchfully.”         (1 Peter 5:7)

 You can dream again! 

               You can be optimistic about the future!

                              You can be free to love and be loved!

               Tear down my walls, Precious Savior!  Enable me to live the life I was meant to live, to be the person I was meant to be …. free, open and unafraid!

 

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Forever Family

Posted on February 19, 2012 by Donna Faehling

         A hush and an air of expectancy falls as I and those that surround me in our church auditorium sit after singing the opening songs of praise and adoration.  I peek around me at this gathering of over a thousand people.  A tingle runs down my neck as I revel in the fact that I am related to most of these worshipers through our shared faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  God has placed all who have received Christ as their Savior into His family.

         This means a great deal to me since my earthly family has dwindled down to precious few.  The realization that most of these sitting beside me, in front of me, behind me, in the choir and the balcony are my brothers and sisters gives me the connection, the community, the ‘belonging’ that my heart longs for.

        Now my forever family is not perfect.  Each of us has a story.  Some may be burdened down with tragedy or sorrow.  Others are filled with desperate thoughts and fears.  Many are covering pain with happy-face masks.  Others are celebrating and brimming with joy.  Every flavor of people and situation is represented.  Being a part of this family means that we share in the joys and the pain of each one.

        A great desire and prayer of Jesus was that his followers would love each other, being in the same loving fellowship as he and his Father.  Before his death for us, after praying for his disciples, he prayed for all his future followers. 

“I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one:  I in them and you in me.  May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (John 17: 20-23).

        It’s a love thing.  United in love for each other we bring glory to Christ.

        We are encouraged in Ephesians 6:18 to “be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”  It’s a family matter.  “We are members of God’s household” (Eph. 2:19).  Because we are brothers and sisters we are encouraged to be thankful for each other.  Paul expresses this in his letter to the Phillipian church.  “I thank God every time I remember you.  In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy.  It is right for me to feel this way about all of you since I have you in my heart”  (Phil. 1:3-4,7a).

        My brother and I used to fight like cats and dogs.  I was almost two years older and was told to watch out for him when we played together or with other children.  I’m afraid my domineering personality gradually took over as we grew into adolescence.  I was still trying to boss him around when he was able to make decisions on his own and take care of himself.  Therefore, the fights.

        He also antagonized me by telling my parents of my activities and actions while at school, some of which I’d rather they never knew about.  So the fights went on.

        Did we love each other?  Yes.  We were family and that meant forgiving, hopefully forgetting, loving and being loyal to each other and our family.

        My brother was also my greatest defender and thought I could accomplish anything.  He let me know which boyfriend was not right for me, because he loved me.  I was in turn proud of him and his many accomplishments.  I loved him fiercely and cried whenever he was hurt. 

        In the family of God we love each other because we are a part of one another.  God made it so.  Others in our Christian family may irritate and frustrate us.  They may hurt our feelings or trample on our toes.  But … they are family. 

Jesus was rejected, betrayed and misunderstood by those he loved, yet he was thankful for them and continued to intercede on their behalf and eventually die for them.

Paul was mistreated by individuals in some of the churches.  Frequently he had ‘problem’ people to deal with and disputes to settle.  Still we read Paul’s greetings at the beginning of his letters to ‘the family’ and note his thankfulness and prayers for each one.

        When we pray and thank God for the saints, our Father puts his love in our hearts for them.  That’s what happened in Paul’s heart as he prayed for and ministered to the brothers and sisters in Thessalonica:

“We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us” (1 Thess. 1:8).

        The early believers called each other ‘dear friends’, dear brothers’. ‘my dear children’.  My Christian family has become very dear to me.  So as I sit in my local church surrounded by my brothers and sisters I thank my Father for each one of them.  And I thank Him for all of my family worshiping him around the world.  I pray for their needs and for Christ to be glorified in their lives. 

        Then as we close our time together by singing our praises to the One who loves us beyond all measure, I close my eyes.  The voices swell together in one chorus of adoration and I think, “this is a taste of how it will be before the throne in heaven.  These are the people with whom I will spend eternity.”  Thank you, Father for these saints, my dear family … because of Jesus.

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Need A Friend?

Posted on February 18, 2012 by Donna Faehling

        Loneliness reached out its tentacles, grasping my mind and heart.  It pulled me down as I paced through the rooms of our apartment.  I was used to having people around, at the very least someone to talk to on the phone.  My husband was gone for a week to a missionary leadership conference in another country and I was home alone. 

            I rather enjoyed the two and a half days after he had left, doing what I wanted to do, when I wanted to do it with no interruptions or distractions.  Now as the evening of the third day was drawing near, restlessness and the dreaded loneliness crept into my rooms with the twilight shadows. 

            My new language skills were still in its infancy, my friendship list was empty and I was about to have a party that had been in the preparation stages for quite a while.  My husband’s presence had evidently been the only thing keeping it from happening.  This wasn’t a let’s get the girls together for pizza, popcorn and a good chick flick party.  No, I was in the mood for a woe is me, I have no friends, let’s get out the tissues and cry over the poor lonely missionary who gave up everything to be here, pity party. 

            Back ‘home’ in the States when I was lonely I could have called any number of friends.  We would have talked for hours, hung out at their house, wandered the mall or gone to a movie.  I would have felt loved, a part of things, just enjoying someone else’s companionship.  Here in this ‘strange new world’ of another country and culture, with no friends, I succumbed to wallowing in that irresistible ‘slough of despond’.  I was lonely with a capital ‘L’.  

            I cried out to the Lord, “I need a friend!  Why don’t you send me just one friend?” 

            After a few hours and many tears I finally sat still in the darkness looking out to the stars twinkling in God’s sky.  As the last sniffle passed and quietness reigned a familiar voice spoke to my heart, “I’m your Friend.”  It was as if fireworks suddenly exploded within me!  God’s my friend! 

            I rushed to turn on a lamp, found my Bible and turned to the concordance.  Where was that verse about God being someone’s friend?  Oh yes, it was Abraham’s friend.  There it was in James 2:23, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called God’s friend.”  I certainly believed in God so I was qualified.  

            I thought for a few moments about what it would mean to me to have God for my friend.  Friendship is a bonding relationship.  It means being there for the other through thick and thin, laughing and crying together.  A friend is someone you feel comfortable with, someone with whom you feel safe to share you doubts, fears and deepest secrets.  Friends are loyal, protective, and always desiring the best for each other.  They enjoy life and explore new things together.  The dictionary sitting beside my Bible said a friend is a favored companion.  That’s what God was offering to me!  He was handing me the treasure of an intimate relationship with Him. 

            I remembered the verses in John where Jesus was describing how valuable a friendship he was offering to those who followed him.  I looked in the concordance, turned to John 15:13-16 and read, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.  You are my friends if you do what I command . . . .I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.  You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit– fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.” 

            My Savior, who gave his life for me, choose me to be his friend!  The Sovereign Lord of the universe is my constant, loving and all powerful companion!

            My ‘woe is me’ pity party changed into a praise session!  The tears of loneliness were turned to tears of joy as I took my first steps in a life long journey with my Best Friend, laughing, talking and sharing our favored companionship.

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Have a Great Day

Posted on February 11, 2012 by Donna Faehling

     “This is the day which the Lord has brought about;

we will rejoice and be glad in it.”  (Ps. 118:25)

     Do you greet the new day with a smile?  Or do you immediately focus on something negative and get up with a frown that would melt butter?  Do you say ”good morning world” or do you “get up on the wrong side of the bed”, grumping and looking for things to gripe about?  Do your spouse or children perk up when you come into the room, are they blessed by your presense or do they think ‘watch out, here comes Mama’ and run the other way?  

   I’m sure everyone can make lists of what’s wrong in their lives, what’s irritating them, what troubles and trials they’re going through.  We’ve all done that.  We can have things that genuinely drag us down.   But how can we overcome the glums, not let them control our day and live a more positive life?  How can we have an attitude adjustment that allows us to see each new day as a blessing … to greet it with hope and great expectations?

     Jeremiah was a man who had seen plenty of trouble which consumed his thinking and his days.  He tearfully brought his distress before God.  While praying he remembered the goodness of the Lord and was encouraged.  Here’s part of what he prayed in Lamentations:3;19-25: 

 ”[O Lord] remember [earnestly] my affliction and my misery, my wandering and my outcast state, the wormwood and the gall.  My soul has them continually in remembrance and is bowed down within me.”

    Perhaps you can identify with what he is feeling as he makes his list.  But keep reading … hope is ahead …  

“BUT this I recall and therefore have I hope and expectation:  It is because of the Lord’s mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassions fail not.  They are new every morning;  great and abundant is You stability and faithfulness!”

     Sometimes we feel like we are being consumed by problems, drowning in the trials of life … BUT GOD ….  His tender compassion is always there if we only accept it … every morning … every moment of our day.  If we take our focus off the negatives and put it on God, we start realizing that He cares deeply for us and is able to help us …  He is always with us and always faithful to work everything out for the best.  (Romans 8:28) 

     When we choose to center our thoughts and hopes in God, we are enabled to turn our day and our lists over to the Lord, trusting Him to take care of everything.  We can have a great day! 

     I found out when I make it my habit to thank God for a new day and give it to Him before I get out of bed, I can count my blessings instead of my problems.  I remind myself that I belong to the Lord of the Universe who loves me with an overwhelming love and I can have a positive attitude no matter what’s going on  :-)

     “The Lord is my portion or share, says my living being (my inner self):  therefore will I hope in Him and wait expectantly for Him.  The Lord is good to those who wait hopefully and expectantly for Him, to those who seek Him [inquire of and for Him and require Him by right of necessity and on the authority of God's word].  It is good that one should hope in and wait quietly for the salvation (the safety and ease) of the Lord.”

“Why are you cast down, O my inner self?          

                    And why should you moan over me and be disquieted within me? 

Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him,

                    Who is the help of my [sad] countenance, and my God.”  (Ps 43:5)

 

Have a great day … with Jesus  :-)

    

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Heaven on Earth

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Donna Faehling

Heaven.  Can you picture what it’s like?  Words like perfect, peaceful, joyful, bright  and beautiful might come to mind.  A reading of Revelation will give us a view of the glory and majesty of heaven and the attitude we will have when we get there.  Look, for instance, at chapter 19 verse 2. 

“After this I heard what sounded like a mighty shout of a great crowd in heaven, exclaiming, Hallelujah (praise the Lord)!  Salvation and glory (splendor and majesty) and power (dominion and authority) [belong] to our God!”

     In heaven there is constant praise and thankfulness expressed to the Almighty God for who He is and what He has done.  All is heaven is carried out according to His perfect and loving will.  God reigns!

     Now getting back to earth, I think you can observe the world around you and see the contrast without me going into it in detail.  All I have to do is look at my own life.  I showed at an early age that I enjoyed control.  In fact I could get quite upset if I didn’t get my way.  Of course my parents set me straight about that … many times … but inside I just knew that my way was the right way.

   As I grew up I found ways of trying to shape things, people and situations to fit what I thought was best for all.  I felt a need and truely wanted to benefit people, to make them happy, comfortable and safe … to take care of them and give them answers to help them.  I desired that no harm would come to me or those in my life and that everything would run smoothly.   In order to get these results I found ways of dealing with situations and people, sometimes reasoning, sometimes manipulating, but always having the goal of working toward what I thought was the best outcome.  I didn’t realize it, but I was playing God.  How frustrated I became when my choices, my way didn’t always turn out so well.  (notice how many “I”s are in this paragraph)

     Then the Lord Jesus Christ got my attention and I received Him as my Savior at the ripe old age of twenty six.  What grace He showed to such a self righteous person!  He gave me a voracious hunger for His Word and revealed something very important to me. 

He is in control, not me!

He is Lord of the Universe, not me!

He reigns over all, not me!

     When I discovered Romans 8:28, a burden … to hold everything together, the need to protect, guard and control my life and my family in every area of their lives, to always have the answers and the fear of letting go … slipped off my shoulders and onto His, where it really belonged.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. “

   What a relief, what perfect peace and rest was mine when I could let go of everything that I had so tightly clasped in my fingers and let God be God.  He could and would take care of everything and everyone.  Over the years this has been proven over and over to me as one by one I relinquished control in various areas and over the people and circumstances so important to me.  My Father, the all powerful God, maker and sustainer of all that is, the all knowing, ever present lover of my soul and Savior of my life has it all under control.  And that’s the way I want it  :-)

     He only asks me to bring things before Him and work with Him as He enables me, so that His will is carried out here in my corner of the earth.  He tells us in 1 Corinthians 3:9 “we are fellow workmen (joint promoters, laborers together) with and for God”.   And so I pray.

     While on earth Jesus mirrored what he taught.  Praying in the garden the night before He was crucified he said “not what I will [not what I desire], but as You will and desire” (Matt. 26:39).   He had given a pattern of prayer to His followers that should be our plea as we pray for others and for circumstances in our lives. (Luke11;2)

“Your will be done [held holy and revered] on earth as it is in heaven.”

What could be better ?? :-)

    

    

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Worship

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Donna Faehling

     In the quiet of the Sunday morning service, as I sat in our church with over a thousand other people, a sound washed over me.  It was like a softly rushing wave.  The pastor had given a Scripture passage and throughout the large room and balcony, pages were being turned in the Bibles of those eager to read what God would say to them that day.  I thought to myself what a beautiful sound of worship that must be to our Father’s ears.

     I was reminded of something a speaker once said.  Each Sunday morning we are part of the continuim of praise and prayer rising up to God’s throne.  It’s part of a global wave that starts on Saturday afternoon and lasts for 48 hours until Monday afternoon.  I like that thought of being part of something so grand … a fortaste of what heaven must be.  All over the world at the same time songs, prayers, praise, teaching and Bible reading rise up before the Lord and He is glorified!

     Worshiping the Lord together is a wonderful thing.  Worship, however is not only for Sundays and not only when we are together with other people.  Everything we do individually can be an act of worship.  We can worship anywhere and at any time.  The shepherd David worshiped under the wide panarama of the night sky and during the heat of the day while tending his fathers sheep.  Paul and Silas worshiped God while in chains in a dark, cold and dirty jail at midnight.

     Because of who God is and because we are in His presense day and night we can bring praises to Him in everything we do, think or say.

“I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship.”  (Romans 12:1)

     It is reasonable and intelligent, in light of who God is and all that He does for us, that we present all we are to Him as our worship.   When we so devote ourselves and our days to Him it pleases and brings glory to Him.

     When I wash dishes (ugh) or iron clothes (double ugh) and do these things in Jesus name, with a thankful heart, I am worshiping God … who gave me a family, food, dishes, pots and pans, strength and good health, clothes, an iron and ironing board and electricity to heat the water and power the iron.  You get the picture  :-)   No matter what is included in my day, I can worship God by doing it in Jesus Name.

“Whatever you do [no matter what it is] in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus and in [dependence upon] His person, giving praise to God the Father through Him.”  (Colossians 3;17)

“So then, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you may do, do all for the honor and glory of God”  (1 Cor. 10:31)

     I once did a careful reading of the book of Revelation and prayed that I could see the glory of our Lord in it.  You should try it sometime.  I was overwhelmed by the constant praise and adoration and glorious descriptions of who my Father, the maker and sustainer of all that is, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, is.   All in heaven fall prostrate before Him.  You and I will someday also fall prostrate before Him when we fully realize who He is.

     We can start now to worship Him with our whole lives.   After all, He IS Lord !!

“Give the Lord the glory due to His name;

worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness”  (Psalms 29:2)

 I want to live to worship Him :-)

 

 

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Where Can I Find Love

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Donna Faehling

Everyone is looking for love.  “Love me” is the heart cry.  “Love me unconditionally.” 

     Where can I find  someone to love me for who I am, imperfections and all?  Someone that will share my dreams, care about my feelings, consider my thoughts, respect my being.  Who will take care of me when I am sick or old , in trouble or need help.

     Most people marry thinking they have finally found ‘true love’ … love that will last their lifetime, love that will fulfill all their needs, fill all the empty holes.  They have found happiness and security, hoping their mate will love them no matter what happens or how they look or act … they are loved.   But even in the very best human love relationship you find there is still something missing.

    There is a deeper, permanent, unfailing love.  A love that appreciates you as an individual, a love that wraps you up and keeps you close and at the same time sets you free to be what you were meant to be.  This is a moment by moment, ever present love.  That love is only found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. 

“See what [an incredible] quality of love the Father has given (shown, bestowed on) us, that we should [be permitted to be named and called and counted the children of God!  And so we are!"  (Amplified Bible)

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be call children of God! And that is what we are!         (NIV  1John 3:1)

     If you have ever had a baby you will understand about lavishing love.  I wanted to hold my son so close, smother him with kisses, breathe in the baby sweetness of him.  There was nothing I wouldn't do for him.  I loved him with all my heart and gave him everything he needed to be happy and grow strong and healthy.  As he grew I taught him about God in words and in the way I lived out my relationship with the Lord.  There was a bound between us that would never be broken.  I lavished him with my love.

     Lavish is such a delicious word.  It means generous, extravagant, abundant, bountiful, unsparing, lush.  All those words and more describe our Savior's  'extreme' love for each of us.   It is indeed extra-ordinary!

 "Who shall ever separate us from Christ's love?

Shall suffering and affliction and tribulation?  Or calamity and distress?  Or persecution or hunger or destitution or peril or sword?

Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors and gain a surpassing victory through Him Who loved us.

For I am persuaded beyond doubt (am sure) that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."  (Romans 8:35, 37-39)

     We belong to Jesus! 

We are precious to Him!

He lavishes us with His unconditional love! 

He holds us close .... and we rest, at peace, secure in His loving arms. 

He loves us unconditionally. 

He takes care of all our needs. 

He gives us joy!

"May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the [Holy] Spirit [Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality].

May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! 

May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love, that you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints [God's devoted people, the experience of that love], what is the breadth and lenghth and height and depth [of it];

[That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience];

that you may be filled[through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]!”  (Eph. 3;16-19)

Rejoice !!

    

  

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What’s In A Name?

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Donna Faehling

      The world population just went over 7,000,000,000 (billion)!  There has been over 10 1/2 million births so far this year.  Over 311,000,000 of those people live in the United States.  Almost 13,000,000 live in Pennsylvania.  That’s a lot of zeros!  And God knows the names of each person living now, each person that ever lived or will live on the earth in the future!  To Him there are no zeros – - only individuals.

     He knows my name!   He knows your name! 

     How many of us know the name of every person we have every met?  We tend to remember only the names of those we know … those we are in closer contact with.  When we think of a person’s name it has a certain collection of memories, impressions and feelings for that person attached to it.  This person is so important to me that I have him imprinted in my mind.

     God knows my name.  I am so important to Him that He even has each hair on my head counted. (Luke 12:6,7)  I can’t say that I have ever even tried to count my husband’s hair, though that process might get a little easier as the years go by …. as the hairs go bye-bye  :-)   It sounds funny, but that really tells us how intimate a knowledge and concern God has for each of us.  Psalms 139 describes how intimately He knows us and how important we are to Him:

“O, Lord, you have searched me [thoroughly] and have known me.  You know my downsitting and my uprising; You understand my thought afar off.  You sift and search out my path and my lying down, and You are aquainted with all my ways.  For there is not a word in my tongue [still unuttered], but, behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.” (vs. 1-4)

    I love a verse in the book of Isaiah where he quotes the Lord talking to the Jews, the children of Israel, who had strayed far from Him.  Here He speaks to our hearts today:

“But now [in spite of past judgments for Israel's sins], thus says the Lord, He Who created you, O Jacob, and He Who formed you, O Israel:  Fear not, for I have redeemed you [ransomed you by paying a price instead of leaving you captives]; I have called you by your name; you are Mine.”  (43;1)

      When we receive the Lord Jesus as our Savior we become children of God … ” to as many as receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name” (John 1:12).  Our Father knows our name, we are of such extreme importance to Him that He paid the price of sacrificing His own precious Son, Jesus, to set us free from being punished for our sins.  “You were bought with a price [purchased with a preciousness and paid for by Christ]” (1 Cor. 7:23).    We have been placed into His family … we belong to Him  :-)

Jesus is many times referred to as the Great Shepherd to show us how tenderly he cares for and takes care of us.  In that day and even now in some Eastern countries shepherds give names to their sheep.   Even among hundreds of other sheep the shepherd knows their name and they respond when called.   He takes care of their every need because left to themselves they are helpless.  These are the words of Jesus:

I am the Good Shepherd.  The Good Shepherd risks and lays down His [own] life for the sheep.

I am the Good Shepherd; and I know and recognize My own, and My own know and recognize Me.”  (John 10;11, 14)

     He referrs to the relationship of the shepherd and his sheep and likens it with His relationship with those individuals that belong to Him.

“The sheep listen to his voice and heed it;

and he calls his own sheep by name and brings (leads) them out.”  (John 10:3)

     You are not a number, not a zero in the statistics, not just another face in the crowd.

You are a special individual, loved and sacrificed for by Jesus!

You matter … you are of extreme importance to Him!

He knows you intimately.

 He knows your name!

 

 

    

    

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Everyday Blessings

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Donna Faehling

     Have you ever had a long stay in the hospital?  I’ve had that experience three times.  Don’t worry, this isn’t about all the gory details  :-)   What struck me was what happened each time to my perspective on life after I was “released”. 

     Maybe you have had the same experience.  As the doors closed behind me, the first thing I noticed was the fresh air, which I gulped in thirstily.  Then as I looked around, it seemed that everything was fresher – - the greens greener, the sky bluer, the birds songs happier.  I was free, having a new lease on life… especially one time when I had been very close to leaving this world.  Thankfulness and songs of praise flooded my heart.  Each little thing became precious to me.

  This morning I felt the same way.  I was sick yesterday, just thankful to be able to stagger to the bathroom dispite the whirling in my head.  Today I awoke feeling great and was praising the Lord that I could bend my head over the sink to wash my hair.  A little thing … but important to me and to my Father, who loves me.  Food tasted yummy, I can work on the computer… life is good.

      Not long ago I started a blessing journal/list in addition to my usual journaling.  I started it by writing out all of Psalms 103 in the front of the notebook so that I read through it quite often using it as a springboard to praise.  “Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul; and all that is [deepest] withing me, bless His holy name!  Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul, and forget not [one of] all His benefits” (vs. 1,2).

     My first entry included my greatest blessings, then it progressed to the tinest things that the Lord gives me each day.  I look for what every day brings – new things, ordinary things that are easily taken for granted, every breath I take, the first cute little bird at my new birdfeeder, time with granddaughters, sunshine, good health, surprises and special - just for me things given from the open hand of my Father.  “God, Who richly and ceaselessly provides us with everything for [our] enjoyment” (1 Tim. 6:17).

     At the top of the first journal entry is the greatest blessing of all, the gift of salvation through my Lord Jesus Christ.  “The [bountiful] free gift of God is eternal life through (in union with) Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).   He drew me to Himself when I was 26 years old and by receiving Him as my Savior, who took my punishment for my sins, I now have forgiveness and eternal life with Him.  I became a child of God and inherited all that comes with that relationship.  That is truly my most precious blessing. 

“For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.”     (John 3:16)

     I am one of the whoevers … are you?   The showers of blessings become downpours when you know Jesus!   “He who did not withhold or spare [even] His own Son but gave Him up for us all, will He not also with Him freely and graciously give us all [other] things?” (Romans 8:33)

     Are you looking for those downpours and showers that are all around us – - – counting and being thankful for the blessings that our Loving Father gives? 

“Blessed be the Lord, Who bears our burdens and carries us day by day (who daily loadeth us with benefits – KJV) even the God Who is our salvation!  Selah! ” (which means pause, and calmly think of that! )      (Psalm 68:19)

     Till next time …… enjoy the blessings  :-) 

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Who is God? Who am I?

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Donna Faehling

     Our family always enjoyed the great outdoors.  Living in the country brought many joys and great adventures.  One of the special things that we enjoyed was when my parents set up the roll-away bed in our yard on hot and muggy summer nights.  They had a certain spot where there were no trees and we were afforded a unobstructed panoranmic view of the sky. 

     My folks, my brother and I could stretch out together and enjoy the starry expanse as Dad and Mom pointed out things of interest.  Sometimes we were treated to a facinating display of shooting stars or meteor showers!  Contemplating the vastness of it all, we asked deeper questions and delighted in each others company. 

     Since we had to share the night with the numberless creepy-crawlies native to hot Arkansas nights, I usually retreated to the safety of my bedroom after an hour or so.  But those times gave me a true appreciation of God and His marvelous creation.  It also made me grasp how small and insignificant I was in comparison to the overwhelming enormity of the universe He had made. 

     It was only later in life that I came to know just how magnificent God is, how much He loves me and how important I truly am to Him.  A thoughtful and prayerful reading of Psalms 8 opens our eyes to truths that can change our perspective of ourselves and our place in the scheme of things.

     “When I view and consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained and established,  What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of [earthborn] man that You care for him?

     Yet You have made him but a little lower than God (or heavenly beings), and You have crowned him with glory and honor.  You made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet.

     O Lord, Our Lord, How excellent (majestic and glorious) is Your name in all the earth!” (Psalms 8:3-6)

     I’m so glad that God gave me being … that He planned me as well as the rest of His vast creation!  I am awed to think of His great love for me!

“He has made everything beautiful in its time.  He also has planted eternity in men’s hearts and minds [a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy, yet so that men cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

I know that whatever God does, it endures forever; nothing can be added to it nor anything taken from it.  And God does it so that men will [reverently] fear Him [revere and worship Him, knowing that He is].”  (Ecc. 3;11,14)

     God is the creator and sustainer of all there is. 

     God is the creator sustainer of you and me. 

“For You did form my inward parts:  You did knit me together in my mother’s womb.” (Psalms 139:13)

     How can I not be thankful

               and praise my maker and sustainer,

                         giver of each breath I take?? 

 

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Memories

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Donna Faehling

     What is your earliest memory?  Mine was on a sunny summer morning. I was walking beside the two lane highway that ran through the middle of our little town in Arkansas. The problem was, I was only about a year and a half old and alone.

      Clad in a diaper and my mother’s pink Sunday hat, I was happily toddling along, her purse dangling from my arm. In my mind I was not alone because my imaginary friend Mrs. Tibbles was with me, as always. When my mother caught up with me I told her I was on my way to the store to do some shopping!  Whether this was completely my memory or was helped along by my mother, the line fades after all these years.

      I have often tried to remember life before that but there is nothing. And contemplating time before my birth is both creepy and humbling. We are so self aware that we tend to think we have been around forever.  It makes me identify with Horton’s dust speck ‘Who’ !

     Time has existed long before I entered it.  But God existed before time began.  “Before the mountains were brought forth or ever You had formed and given birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting You are God” (Psalms 90:2).  And wonder of wonders I was always in God’s heart and mind!  “Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in Your book all the days [of my life] were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there was none of them” (Psalms 139:16). How awsome is that!

     God’s memories of me never fade . “”To Him Who [earnestly]remembered us in our low estate and imprinted us [on His heart], for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever” (Psalms 136:23). That puts a whole new outlook on my days!  I’m imprinted on God’s heart … He will never forget me!

     There must be a purpose … there must be a reason … there must be a plan … for me – for you.

     Think it over till next time when we will ponder more about God, life and great expectations.

Read Psalms 139 for a great pick-me-up – - –

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