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Saturday, November 1, 2025

A LONG-REMEMBERED GIFT!

 

Saturday, November 1, 2025

 

A LONG-REMEMBERED GIFT!


Mark 14:8

8 She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.

 

          Almost sixty years ago, just before leaving home to begin Bible college studies, an elderly church-lady baked me a pie. I don’t even remember what kind of pie it was. Perhaps it was double crust apple, but that detail has escaped me, along with the pie. What has not flown away is the memory of that simple kindness. The lady was probably living on retirement income so she couldn’t give me money. She didn’t offer sage advice although she most likely could have. She simply did what she could. She baked me a pie.

 

          The fact that I remember the kindness and not this woman’s name is testimony to the power of small investments made in others. It may seem insignificant to us, but it may literally linger a lifetime in the grateful mind of the recipient.

 

          Thanksgiving is just days away and we will gather with family and try to remember why we are thankful. It shouldn’t be as hard as it usually is. Perhaps it would be easier if we recalled the small kindness given simply. These enrich our lives and bore deeply into our thinking. They make a home there and change us for the better. For this we should be thankful.

 

          Stop thinking of what you can’t afford to do. Stop mourning your lack of time and energy. Just do what you can do and ask God to bless it. Your gift may last a lifetime.

 

Mat 10:41 He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. 

Mat 10:42 And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward. 

 

Dear Lord, today someone will need a small act of kindness. Let me do what I can to be a blessing to others. AMEN

 

Thursday, October 30, 2025

I HAVE PRAYED FOR YOU!

 

Thursday, October 30, 2025

 

I HAVE PRAYED FOR YOU!

 

Luke 22:31-32

31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:

32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

 

          As parents of adult children, we must learn to deliver them into the capable hands of God. I am as guilty as any of trying to buffer them from every harm and hurt.

 

          This is my prayer not only for my adult children and grandchildren but for my church family as well. “He knows you and your situation. I can't see far enough to guide you, I am too blind, so I will try to give that task to Him. I can't sustain you, I am too poor, so I have brought your debts to Him. I am too weak to protect you, so I have dispatched His angels to guard you. I have no balm to soothe your wounds, so I have appealed to the great physician. I love you but I have asked for His perfect love. May you be blessed today.”

 

          We can’t fully know the drama that is unseen when we pray! It is not weakness to pray – it is strength! It is our greatest treasure, our most renewable and inexhaustible resource. It never fails to bring God’s best. The answer may sometimes disappoint us, but only because we can’t know what God knows and see what God sees. All His ways are benevolent. He is not capricious but purposeful. Trust Him today!

 

Dan 10:11-12

11 And he [the angel] said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. 12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.

 

Dear Father, hear the prayers of your children today. Protect them from danger. Fight their battles for them and win. Give them their daily bread. Lead them in a plain path for Thy name’s sake. AMEN

 

Wednesday, October 29, 2025

MOVED WITH COMPASSON!

 

Wednesday, October 29, 2025

 

MOVED WITH COMPASSON!

 

Matt 14:14

14 And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.

 

Five times in the New Testament it is recorded that Jesus was “moved with compassion.” Matthew mentions three occasions and Mark points out two. The Greek word that requires an English phrase to translate is the word splagchnizomai and means “to have the bowels yearn” or to feel sympathy or pity. Certainly, we have all felt that knot in our belly that is somehow connected to strong emotions!

 

Jesus was able to see a person’s need and pain. It is amazing that he was not constantly weeping! He saw the multitude without direction or care. He saw the sick in need of healing. He saw the unpaid debt that needed to be forgiven and the leper that needed to be cleansed. He noticed it all and his “bowels” turned over and over in sympathy.

 

Several times Jesus asked His disciples to partner with him in relieving suffering. Once He told them to give the multitude something to eat. Yet another time He asked them to pray that laborers would be provided. What can we do when our sympathies overwhelm our resources?

 

There was never a situation that Jesus did not respond to with prayer no matter how large or small the problem. When he missed the fellowship of the Father and the comfort of heaven he prayed. When he was hungry and tired, he prayed. If he was tempted, he prayed. When criticized he prayed. When hanging on the cross he prayed. There was never an emergency that would not yield to prayer.

 

Dear Lord, I run to you this morning with a long list of needs and concerns. I am doing what you did when overwhelmed. Lord, please meet the needs of my friends today. AMEN