Shane Taylor was considered one of the most dangerous men in the UK prison system. Originally jailed for attempted murder, he had his sentence extended by four years when he attacked a prison officer with a broken glass, setting off a riot.
He was put in a segregation unit inside a maximum-security prison. He was given his food through a hatch. His door was not opened unless there were six officers armed with riot shields waiting outside. Later, he was transferred to Long Lartin maximum security prison, where he was invited to Alpha [a Bible study]. During the course he prayed, “Jesus Christ, I know you died on a cross for me. Please, I don’t like who I am, please forgive me, please.” At that moment he was filled with the Holy Spirit. Everything changed overnight. He said, “I knew God existed, I knew Jesus had touched me and I was going to live for him forever.” His behavior changed so much that he went from living in total segregation to getting a trusted job in the prison chaplaincy. He started sending money to a charity in Africa. He prayed for the prison officers and for his enemies and, when he came out of prison, he got involved in a church. Talking to Shane now, it is hard to imagine that he is the same person who terrified so many people in the past. He has experienced the wonder of God’s great love. He says, “Jesus has shown me how to love and how to forgive. He has saved me. He has forgiven me for what I have done. He has changed my life.”… Through his death and resurrection, Jesus makes it possible for all of us to be forgiven and to enjoy the wonder of his great love into eternity.
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In the last several years, I have adapted and used this prayer by Richard of Chichester in my own quiet times before the Lord: “Thanks be to Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, for all the benefits which Thou hast given us; for all the pains and insults which Thou hast borne for us. O most merciful redeemer, may we know Thee more clearly, love Thee more dearly, and follow Thee more nearly; for Thine own sake.”
If we are to love God completely, it will involve our whole personality—our intellect, our emotion and our will. “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30). The better we come to know God (“may we know Thee more clearly”), the more we will love Him (“love Thee more dearly”). And the more we love Him, the greater our willingness to trust and obey Him in the things He calls us to do (“follow Thee more nearly”). 1. “May We Know Thee More Clearly.” The great prayers in Ephesians 1 and 3, Philippians 1, and Colossians 1 reveal that Paul’s deepest desire for his readers was that they grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. The knowledge the apostle had in mind was not merely propositional, but personal. He prayed that the Lord would give them a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, that the eyes of their hearts would be enlightened and that they would know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge (Ephesians 1:17-18; 3:19). What does it take to know Him more clearly? The two essential ingredients are time and obedience. It takes time to cultivate a relationship, and unless we make the choice of setting aside consistent time for prayer and the reading of Scripture, we will never become intimate with our Lord. Obedience is the proper response to this communication, since it is our personal expression of trust in the promises of the Person we are coming to know. 2. “Love Thee More Dearly.” To know God is to love Him, because the more we grasp—not merely in our minds but in our experience—who He is and what He has done for us, the more our hearts will respond in love and gratitude. God’s love for us is spontaneous, free, uncaused and undeserved. He did not set His love on us because we were lovable, beautiful or clever, because in our sin we were unlovable, ugly and foolish. He loved us because He chose to love us. 3. “Follow Thee More Nearly.” As we grow to know and love God, we learn that we can trust His character, promises and precepts. Whenever He asks us to avoid something, it is not because He is a cosmic killjoy, but because He knows that it is not in our best interests. And whenever He asks us to do something, it is always because it will lead to a greater good. Our great task in the spiritual life is to do His will, to love the things He loves and to choose the things He sets before us for our good. -- By Ken Boa I've lived in a very abusive, very uncaring, very unemotional, very messed up family all my life. I believe I have an angel that sometimes comes to comfort me, or sends others to help me when I'm at my darkest moments.
The first time I saw my angel, I was around a year old. I was at a huge family get-together with five generations of my mom's family. I was passed off in the living room with some family members who didn't care about me and acted like I wasn't there. I was positioned in front of a wall with my back toward everyone. I learned early on to try my best not to make any noise while the TV was on, so I wouldn't get into any more trouble. I remember sitting directly in front of a wall, and I couldn't take my eyes off of it. I felt like I was being pulled into place and held in front of the wall. I had been staring at the wall for a while when I saw a figure in the wall. It was a man's face with shoulders and wings in the background. Every part of him had a light bluish tint to it. He had a very pretty face and he looked like he was in his 20s. His eyes were a darker shade of blue than the rest of him and he had medium-long hair flowing around him. This may sound like I'm describing a female, but I knew it was male. He was smiling and giggling with me as I smiled and giggled back. He had the most gorgeous wings, and when he giggled his wings fluttered up and down. I couldn't talk much or understand many words, but he "told" me—like he was sending a message directly into my mind—that everything would be okay. —Tasha By Sergio Munoz
Conect Vision Foundation opened in February 2019 in Puerto Asís, Putumayo, an area that belongs to the Colombian Amazon, which is very rich in biodiversity and natural resources. Sadly, this region has suffered a lot due to the violence generated by drug trafficking, guerrillas, and conflicts. Due to these 60 years of conflict, the people have become suspicious, fearful, and without hope. They also feel used by the government because they take local resources and give the people almost nothing in return, leaving behind poverty and a trail of harm to the environment, and sadly, violence. This is a summary of activities carried out during three months earlier this year. Despite the coronavirus quarantine, we continue to develop the VITAL program weekly through:
Are goals for the rest of the year and next year are:
We found ourselves going through a tough period financially. My husband and I were both studying and neither of us had a steady income. Winter came around earlier than usual and this particular year it was extra cold, with knee-deep snow and harsh, cold winds. I had winter jackets, snow pants and boots saved for my girls but nothing for our son Max. As winter had come earlier than expected, we lacked the finances to buy new winter clothes and boots that month, and he only had his autumn jacket and tennies.
I got desperate and told Jesus of my plight. “This won’t do, Lord. He’s Your kid and he really needs warm winter clothes, preferably a good snow suit that will last next year as well, and a good pair of winter boots. And we really need it now!” I told Jesus this and no one else, I figured He’d make good on His promise, “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it” (John 14:14). Sure enough, only three days passed and my dad calls from another city where he lives. He tells me he found great deals on a good brand of winter snow suits and boots for my youngest brother, and he added, “I want to buy the same for Max. I’ll ship them to you.” I told my dad then and there of how he was an answer to prayer! He had never done this before and never did it again! But I got just what I prayed for: a Didrikson snow suit with extendable arms and legs, made to last longer than one season, and a good pair of winter boots that kept my son warm and dry that winter. God really cares! One or two things going wrong in my week aren’t the end of the world. I can handle a few bad things. I know that every week has its allotment of issues, and I’m used to dealing with that. I can generally stay quite cheerful and look on the bright side.
But last week was an exception. It seemed like something went wrong every day. I’m not talking about little nuisances, but some pretty big things. Every day held a surprise, and they weren’t happy ones. We had a couple of accidents—not major ones, thank God, but the kind that are hassles and result in extra expenses. We had some health issues, extra doctor’s appointments and concerns. We worried, as storm after storm lashed different parts of the world where we have friends and loved ones. Every day, something new came up. It made me wonder if God was going to get tired of me calling out to Him yet again about some new challenge. Does He run out of sympathy after a while and decide not to answer the phone when He sees it’s me, yet again, on caller ID? What I realized from this difficult week of calling out to God is that He hears. He never gets tired of listening. He never stops picking up the phone when I call. He’s always there to listen, to offer advice and direction. He’s there to calm my heart rate and pick me up when I don’t feel like moving forward. He’s there to comfort me and restore the joy of the Lord. And He works things out. If I had any doubt about God’s care and protection, I saw it in person last week. I saw His hand move and heal us when we needed healing. I saw Him protect us when scary things happened. I saw Him take care of loved ones and help them through potentially dangerous situations. I saw Him work a few quiet miracles. I saw Him stop and listen every time I called out to Him, and answer every time I cried. The result of my very bad week is that I’m reminded that with God’s help I can handle anything that comes my way. At the end of the week, my faith is secure, and I’m confident that whatever problems or challenges I face, He will work them out. There may be storms or accidents or mistakes or problems, but ultimately, I can trust God to help me through. And with Him, I can look forward to next week and whatever it brings. – by Joyce Suttin
When I was the pastor of a church in Wagoner, Oklahoma, there was a girl named Etta, who wanted very much to go to college. For two years she prayed for money to pay her tuition. The situation looked impossible. She came to me in tears and much discouraged. I asked her if she knew that it was God’s will for her to go, and she answered that she was absolutely sure it was.
“Then I would certainly not wait any longer,” I said. “You’ve been asking God for the money for two years, but you have never shown by your actions that you really expect Him to provide it. If you really believed He was going to answer your prayer and give you the funds you need, what would you do?” “I’d get my clothes ready, write the school that I was coming, and make necessary arrangements to wrap up my responsibilities here,” Etta answered. “Then that is exactly what I would do if I were you. Stand on His promise and prepare, do as much as you can as if you had the money in your hand. If someone you trust were to promise you the money, you would believe them, but God Himself has already promised in His Word, in Psalm 37:4, to give you the desire of your heart. Do you believe Him?” “I do! I’ll prove it! I’m going home to pack my clothes and get ready. School opens in a very short time, and I’ll have to hurry.” Etta never wavered from that moment on. She went straight ahead with her preparations, positive that the Bank of Heaven would open its windows at just the right time. The day before she was supposed to leave, she phoned me to say that her clothing and other belongings were all ready to pack, but she had no suitcase. Over the phone we claimed the Scripture promise, “God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory.” About an hour later a friend phoned me. She said she was cleaning house and found a number of things she didn’t need any longer and wanted to get rid of, including a large suitcase. She wondered if I could use it. “You’re filling an order from heaven,” I said with a laugh, “only you have the wrong address. The Lord wants the suitcase sent to Etta’s home.” The next night a number of us went to the train station to see Etta off to college. “The money hasn’t come yet, so I haven’t been able to buy my ticket,” she whispered, “but I am not the least bit worried. I absolutely know the Lord has heard my prayer and I know that I have what I asked Him for.” I thought there must have been a mistake somewhere. Some members of the congregation had told me they were taking a collection amongst themselves to help Etta, but I didn’t know why she had not received the money. Just then I heard the train whistle in the distance and saw the glow of the headlight. Time was running out. What could I say? Suddenly one of the people who had taken the collection came running up to us. “I was doing some work at the office when I remembered the money the others had given me to give to Etta,” he said. “And here is some more—a gift from my wife and me.” “And here is more,” said another friend who had also just arrived to see Etta off. “All aboard!” called the conductor. “All aboard!” “All aboard God’s promises!” I said to Etta. “It pays to believe, doesn’t it?” “It’s wonderful,” she answered, “simply wonderful, what faith can do!” -- Virginia Brandt Berg I was received into the membership of the Christian Church by the Rev. Arthur Harries, and it was he, my first pastor, who told this story to his congregation.
The post office officials were much interested as they read the words written on an envelope which had just arrived from Japan. "To the man of God, ------, Monmouthshire, England." "Who can that be?" asked the sorting official; but his colleagues were unable to answer his question. Then one man exclaimed, "Well, it's not the parson, anyhow," and instantly they all agreed. The local clergyman did not fit the description. One by one, the names of the other ministers were mentioned; but in spite of the fact that several of these men were nice fellows and exceedingly popular, they did not fit the description on the envelope. The problem of delivering the letter was becoming acute, when rather abruptly a member of the staff said, "I know. Yes, I know who he is. He's od Mr. -----. If any man in this town has earned the right to that title, he is the man." The listeners agreed, and he was deputed to take the letter to the man's house. The old Christian marvelled that the post office staff should think him worthy of such a compliment; but when he opened the letter, he discovered that their choice had been sound. The letter had been written to him by a Japanese student whom he had entertained months earlier. The young man had been studying in Wales, and had been received into the home of his new friend. When he returned to Japan, he desired to send a letter of appreciation; but alas, he had lost the address of his former host. However, that presented no problem, for he had gained the impression that he had stayed with a man of God. He smiled and was reassured, for in his own country, a man of God was known near and far. Surely this would be the case in other lands. Everybody would know the man of God, and if he addressed the letter in that fashion, it would reach its destination. It did; and in so doing, paid tribute to one whose consecrated service had charmed a community. One wonders what would happen if such a letter were addressed to the man of God--in my town. Would the postal officials think of me? Paul wrote in Philippians 1:20, 21, "...that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Paul's reference to the magnifying glass is most interesting, and its connection with "the man of God" is obvious. A magnifying glass does not actually increase the size of anything: It only seems to do this. Actually the object at which a man may be looking is exactly the same size, but the glass brings it into bold relief, and the watcher is able to see it more clearly. It is not possible to make Christ more wonderful, for "He is the altogether lovely One, and the chiefest among ten thousand." Yet, if by God's grace we can become magnifying glasses--in perfect alignment with the Master and men--they will be able to see Him more clearly when they look at Him through us. All the details of His superb glory may be brought into delightful relief if we are what we ought to be. Probably Paul had a similar thought in mind when he wrote, "Ye are living epistles, seen and read of all men." We read the Scriptures to learn more of Christ. Likewise, people read us in order to achieve identical results. The fact that the letter addressed to the man of God reached its destination, suggests that the honoured Christian had been a magnifying glass. He had so magnified his Lord that even the people in the post office had been able to see Him. They had also read his everyday actions, and had recognized in them the presence of the Lord. The old man had been a living epistle of righteousness. And ever since my old pastor told that story, I have wistfully longed to reach that standard of holiness. It is the Christian's Mount Everest! My father was a cross-country truck driver and my mother was frequently on her own. My mother was a beautiful but fragile blue-eyed lady with long, soft blonde hair. I describe her because it's important to the story.
When I was 4, my mother decided to take a night job. She usually stayed home with my 6-year-old brother and me. She hated leaving us but we need the extra income, so she found a babysitter, and feeling a bit apprehensive, went to work. I can't even remember the babysitter's name because she was not with us long. My brother, Gerry, and I were sent upstairs to bed that evening, and, as many little kids do, we fought sleep and paid more attention to what was going on downstairs. Our babysitter's boyfriend had come over and soon we realized that she had left with him. My brother tried to reassure me when I began to cry. I remember him leaving the hallway light on and saying mom would be home soon, but I was terrified. As I lay in my bed, I looked toward the hallway, and in the doorway stood my mother. I could see her long, blonde hair and the concern in her blue eyes. She said something soothing—I can't remember the exact words—and she came over to the bed, took me in her arms and rocked me to sleep. I remember feeling so secure and safe in her arms. In the morning I could hear my mother rattling around in the kitchen. I got up and went down to greet her, still feeling secure and safe. When I got to the kitchen she greeted me with the usual, "Good morning, Sunshine!" Then she asked, "Where is the babysitter?" When I replied that I was so glad that she had come home last night when I was so scared, her eyes got big and she became concerned. She had just arrived home. I often think of that night and I now think an angel took my mother's appearance and calmed me down. For me it was the beginning of knowing that someone watches over me. Many times I have felt that presence, but I never saw my mother's face on an angel again. —Deane |
AuthorThe goal of the blog is to provide interesting, motivational, soul feeding material. All to help remind us that God loves us all and wants a personal relationship with each of us and will take care of us in times of trouble. I aspire to be a force for good by providing you with positive input. I encourage you to share the blog with others. Archives
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