What our life has been like...Part 1

I must say that I was surprised to receive so many comments on my last post, thank you all so much!

The Lord has been so good to us, He is faithful in all things just as He promises in His word. Patrick lost his job about a month before our wedding and has not been able to find a good steady job since, yet the Lord is our provider and He has never failed us. Time and again we have wondered how He would provide for our next need only to see His hand move in a mighty way. Our dear Heavenly Father is taking us through a trial of faith that we might be more conformed to the image of His son, Jesus Christ. What a wonderful thing to know that whatever He takes us through it is that we might be more like Him for His glory, this is the joy of our journey.

 O to be like Thee! blessed Redeemer;
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I'll forfeit all of earth's treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

O to be like Thee! O to be like Thee!
Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
  Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

O to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wand'ring sinners to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer, others to save.

Our Lord has promised that He will never leave us or forsake us, we are His children and the sheep of His pasture, He cares, oh so tenderly He cares for His own. When I have times of doubt the Lord points me back to Matthew chapter six. What comfort is to be found in those precious words of our Lord Jesus!

“Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? Or, What shall we drink? Or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek;) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matt. 6:31-33)

We took a trip up to Wisconsin in June to get my dog Abby and some of my things as well as visit with the family. 

 It was wonderful to see everyone again!

We brought back tomato and pepper plants that I had started back in April, which we were able to plant along with beans and a few other things. It was a smaller garden, but a great blessing. It is so much fun to work the soil and care for the plants, then later to harvest and can. This time was especially fun as I worked alongside my husband! 

 We had to harvest the tomatoes while they were yet green because of caterpillars attacking them.

There are no words to explain the blessing and joy of having a godly, loving husband! When I think back over all the years that I prayed for him, hoping that he existed, I can see so clearly now how the Lord was answering those prayers. I used to think that maybe I was asking too much when I told the Lord what kind of a man I wanted for my husband. I thought maybe I would have to settle for less than what I prayed for, then after more prayer I realized that I did not want to marry a man who was not what I was asking for. So I began to think that I would never get married, since it seemed impossible that such a wonderful, godly young man existed. Please allow me to tell you that the Lord answered far above what I could ask or think! Patrick is so much more than what I asked for, daily I am brought before the Lord with thanksgiving for creating me for such a wonderful man!

No king but King Jesus!

In Duluth there is an on going event called "Bentleyville Tour of Lights" which is a large area decked out in lights. We saw an opportunity to proclaim the name of Jesus, but just as the event began my brother and I fell sick. We were sick for some time, ending up with sinus infections and such. Praise God that He has healed us and we are back on the streets singing the praise of our King! On Thursday we did a "Health Partners" witness and a "Planned Parenthood" witness, then headed down to Bentleyville. My Mom and I held signs that said: "Jesus Came to Give Life" and "The Lord our God, He is Mightily to Save!" We sung carols while Michael and our friend and brother Steve handed out gospel tracts. Before long Mr. Bentley showed up. He was furious with us for being there! "Why are you here?" he yelled. "This does not belong at this event!" He told Steve: "The police told me you would come, but it took you two weeks to get here!" This reminds us of a verse "These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also...!" (Acts 17:6) Mr. Bentley tried all he could to get us to leave, even bodily blocking my brother from handing out tracts! One of his volunteers said she is a Christian, but also said that when someone hands her a tract it "makes me sick"! Another volunteer began to tell those coming to the event who were about to take a tract: "We're sorry they are not part of Bentleyville, they're just soliciting." Over and over. My brother responded by saying "These are free, we are not soliciting." Thankfully a police officer arrived who knew the law and told Mr. Bentley that we have "a Constitutional right" to be there. Praise God!

We returned on Friday night, and hope to go again for many nights to come. What an opportunity to glorify the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! Obviously Mr. Bentley wants his event to be all about HIM and cannot tolerate competition. We are there to proclaim that there is no king but King Jesus! Please pray for us, and for the many people that accept tracts, hear the songs, etc. that they will be convicted by the Spirit of God and come to repentance and faith. One young man named Dan, was very open to hear the gospel, please pray for the salvation of his soul.

Also on Tuesday this week a baby's life was spared at the abortion mill in Duluth! We are praise God! To read that story go here: http://www.sarahsprolife.com/blog/

Eyes Focused on Jesus

Oh, let us keep our eyes on Jesus dear sisters! There is no other help for us. If we focus on our ministry, on the things we do for God and not on Him, then are we sure to drift. To gaze at Him, to seek, and adore Him is our great privilege. Upon taking our eyes off of Jesus we are sure to falter, slip and fall. Remember Peter on the water. He took his eyes off of Jesus, and soon sunk in the waves. How easy it is for us to look at our circumstances instead of our great God. Again, how easy it is to look at our work, and ministry, instead of looking at He who equips us unto the ministry. For a time we can manage to go on "auto pilot", seeming to be in the same spiritual state as before, but time will show that growth has stopped. We will begin to notice a coldness in our hearts, a lack of deep fellowship with our God. Outwardly we say the same things, do the same things, but inwardly we are groping in the dark, dieing. Indeed, if this process continues, we will stop bearing fruit all together, and being no longer a glory to our King, we will in a sense die.

Thanks be to God who gives us the victory in Christ Jesus our Lord! Cry out to Him for mercy, repent of your sin. Seek fellowship with your Father in Heaven, and plead with Him to soften and change your heart. He is our dear Father, we can cry Abba (Daddy!) and oh how tenderly He cares for us.

These things I know because for a time I had forgotten. I looked around me instead of at Jesus, and I was miserable. But, Praise be to God who brought me out of the pit and brought me back to the the Light of His countenance! Our God is so good, faithful, and kind!

We do not have the answers, but He does. We cannot see the future, but He does. And He cares, He knows how to get a hold of our hearts. Give Him your heart, and He will glorify Himself through you. Oh what joy!

The Refiner's Fire

He sat by a fire of seven-fold heat,
As He watched by the precious ore.
And closer He bent with a searching gaze
As He heated it more and more.

He knew He had ore that could stand the test,
And He wanted the finest gold
To mold as a crown for the King to wear,
Set with gems with a price untold.

So He laid our gold in the burning fire,
Tho' we fain would have said him 'Nay',
And He watched the dross that we had not seen,
As it melted and passed away.

And the gold grew brighter and yet more bright,
But our eyes were so dim with tears,
We saw but the fire - not the Master's hand,
And questioned with anxious fears.

Yet our gold shone out with a richer glow,
As it mirrored a Form above,
That bent o'er the fire, tho' unseen by us,
With a look of ineffable Love.

Can we think that it pleases His loving heart
To cause us a moments' pain?
Ah, no! but He saw through the present cross
The bliss of eternal gain.

So He waited there with a watchful eye.
With a love that is strong and sure,
And His gold did not suffer a bit more heat,
Than was needed to make it pure."

-Author Unkown
From "Streams in the Dessert" By Mrs. Chas Cowman

God is Worthy to be Praised!

We were at the abortion mill today. The gospel was clearly given to the eleven mothers who went in to destroy the lives of their little ones. We read the Word of God out loud, and sang praise to our Lord Jesus Christ because He is worthy. What a joy to lift up His name!

I was able to preach for some time to a group of eight woman who gathered in the "gated" area. There were two mothers in the group who seemed to be sobered as I shared with them on sin, righteousness, and judgment. One loud woman came over to tell me that she had an abortion once because "the baby was not right", and when I expressed sympathy and regret that she had done that, she said that she was not sorry. She also said that she had "Jesus in her soul". At which I began to share that God does not forgive those who will not repent. She called me a "Bible preacher" and wished I would stop. Glory! What a name to be called!

As we prepared to leave, a couple came out. We asked them if they had changed their mind, The woman answered, "Yes". Praise God! We rejoice, and give glory to God! They would not stop to talk, but drove away, and she waved. Please pray for them, that God will convict them of sin and save their souls.

Our God is great, and worthy of all praise and glory!

You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for you have created all things, and for your pleasure they are and were created.
(Revelation 4:11)

Praising in Sickness

Wow, what a time!

Michael and I came back from the Missionaries to the Preborn tour on Sunday, I will have to fill you in on the details for that later. My Mom has been very sick for a week, high fever, achenes, queasy, etc. On Monday we had to take her to the hospital because we were afraid that it was more than just a flu. They ran a bunch of tests, including a cat-scan, and everything was negative. Last night we received the results for the Lyme disease test and that was negative as well. Praise God! So it must just be a terrible case of the flu, and we are all hoping that we will not get it.

On Tuesday Michael and I had to butcher chickens, a couple of friends came to help (Thank you soooo much!!!) we did not get them all done, so we plan to do the rest tomorrow and there are some other friends who plan to help. Yesterday and today we packaged the chickens, and for the rest of the day today we snapped, blanched and froze, a whole bunch of beans which I had picked on Monday. And, I could go on with all the things which should have been done...yesterday. But our God is so wonderful! He gives a song in the night season, a joy when hard times come, a peace when we should be overwhelmed. Oh how sweet is His presence! If it were not for hard times, we would not know what it was like to be carried through them by the One who Knows.

Please pray for us, for healing for my Mother (she is slowly on the mend), for strength in this time of need, and also please pray for our dear friend's baby Jesaias who is very sick right now as well.

A Heavenly Vision

I am excited. God has given me a vision for this life. Even as a child I had a vision of wanting to serve the Lord, but He keeps expanding it. It certainly cannot be communicated through words, He has to give it, but at least I may provoke some to ask for it.

This life on earth is but for a moment, it is passing away very quickly. In heaven we have an eternal home in the presence of God..... By the way, are you ready to be in the presence of God for eternity? If you are uncomfortable in His presence now, what about then? We had better learn to love His presence now, we will be with Him forever and ever!..... There is no sun in Heaven, because the Lamb is the light of that city. It is a glorious place, just read Revelation and see how wonderful it is. Then look back at this earth and all our material possessions which are all going to be burned up. Weigh these things in the balances. Can the earthly even come close to comparing with the value of the eternal? Do you even have to consider which is greater in value?

Jesus said; "...The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; which when a man has found, he hides, and for joy thereof goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field." (Matthew 13:44)

He does not even have to stop and think, is it worth it? That would be a ridiculous question. Yet day after day we cling to this earth. Heaven is security for the future, but for now this life is what life is about. We cling to material possessions, to jobs, to earthly comfort, security and pleasure. We cling to our families, and our own bodies which are passing away.

Remember the "muck raker" in Pilgrims Progress? Though an angel held a crown of gold above his head for him to receive celestial glories, he would not look up from the muck of this life. Though a pool had been set where he could look in to see the glories above him, he avoided the pool because it also would show him what he was.

Are we also so caught up in the affairs of this life that we do not see beyond to the heavenly vision?

This life is NOT the end in it's self, it is the means to an end. Whatever I do only has lasting value and meaning if it enables me to further the Kingdom of God. This is a Kingdom vision. Jesus said, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." He was not talking just to missionaries, to those who feel a "calling" to go, He was, He is, talking to all of us who are His people.

We are not called to work so that we can eat, so that we can live, to work, to eat, to live, to work...no, that is an endless loop with no eternal value. We have a higher calling, of lasting value.

Jesus said: "Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor yet for your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing?" (Matthew 6:25)

Yes, it is. This life is not about us, it is not about me, it is about God and His glory.

Jesus said: "Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, How shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things. But seek you first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:31-33)

The ungodly see only this world and live for it, but we are called to see the kingdom of God and live for Him. We need to catch hold of His vision, ask God for it. We need God's prospective on everything that we do. We must look at this life through the eyes of faith, seeing beyond the physical, confessing that we are strangers and pilgrims here on earth. We seek a better country.

We need to ask ourselves, By doing this, am I furthering the Kingdom of God, or is this thing an end in it's self? If it is not enabling us to further the Kingdom of God, it is not worth doing.

I hope to someday marry a man who has this kingdom vision. A man who's work is only a means to enable him and his family to preach the gospel of the kingdom (Matthew 4:23, 9:35, 24:14, Mark 1:14). A man who has a vision of his wife and children working hand in hand with him to further the kingdom of God. A man like this: "For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him." (Genesis 18:19) A man who's children desire to follow in his footsteps because he is following Jesus. A man with a heavenly vision is the man I want to follow, a man who looks to Jesus.

If everything is about God and His glory, no wonder we are told, "Whatsoever your hand finds to do, do it with your might." (Ecclesiastes 9:10)

"And whatsoever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men." (Colossians 3:23)

Oh, I am so excited!

Do You Have a Wedding Garment?

And Jesus answered and spoke unto them again by parables, and said, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, who made a marriage for his son, And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them who are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: And the remnant took his servants, and treated them shamefully, and slew them. But when the king heard thereof, he was angry: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then said he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they who were bidden were not worthy. Go you therefore into the highways, and as many as you shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man who had not on a wedding garment: And he said unto him, Friend, how came you in here not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen. (Matthew 22:1-14)

This passage of course refers to that great day, the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9) where we as the bride of Christ will be united with Him. It is said that "his wife has made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints." (Revelation 19:8) So what does it mean that this one man did not have on a wedding garment? He obviously was poor, since he had been pulled off of the streets, but the others were in the same state and they seemed to have on wedding garments. Where did they get them?

First we must see that we ourselves are these people off of the streets. We were found dressed in filthy rags, destitute and without hope, until God in His incredible mercy saved us and brought us out of the miry clay, setting our feet upon the rock. There was nothing in us that would cause God to have pity on us or that would make Him want to save us, in our flesh is no good thing. And yet, unto the bride it was "granted" to dress in... the "righteousness of saints." In Scripture we learn that we in ourselves cannot be righteous, "there is none righteous no not one" (Romans 3:10-12). God is the only Righteous one. In Ephesians 6:14, we are told to put on the Breastplate of Righteousness. Where does this righteousness come from? We find the answer in Jeremiah 33:16 "...and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The Lord our righteousness." !

"He saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment; by which is meant, not good works, or a holy life and conversation, nor any particular grace of the Spirit, as faith, or charity, or humility, or repentance, or any other, nor the whole work of sanctification, nor the Holy Ghost, but the righteousness of Christ: for though good works are the outward conversation garments of believers, and these greatly become them and adorn the doctrine of Christ, yet they are imperfect, and have their spots, and need washing in the blood of Christ, and cannot in themselves recommend them to God; and though the Holy Spirit and his graces, his work of holiness upon the heart, make the saints all glorious within, yet not these, but the garment of Christ's righteousness, is their clothing of wrought gold, and raiment of needlework, in which they are brought into the king's presence: this, like a garment, is without them, and put upon them; and which covers and protects them, and beautifies and adorns them; and which may be called a wedding garment, because it is that, in which the elect of God were betrothed to Christ; in which they are made ready and prepared for him, as a bride adorned for her husband: and in which they will be introduced into his presence, and be by him presented, first to himself, and then to his Father, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. This man had not on this garment, this robe of righteousness; it was not imputed to him; he had no knowledge of it; or if he had any, it was only a speculative one; he had no true faith in it; he had never put on Christ, as the Lord his righteousness; he had got into a church state without it, though there is no entrance into the kingdom of heaven but by it." -Gill

Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believes in Jesus. (Romans 3:20-26)

And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: (Philippians 3:9)

We are to be clothed in the righteousness which is by faith in Jesus Christ. "For if Abraham were justified by works, he has something in which to boast; but not before God. For what says the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness." (Romans 4:2-3) Jesus took our filthy garment of sin on Himself and gave us His glorious garment of righteousness. We can now come into the most holy place because the sacrifice has been made and we no longer are clothed in sin, but in righteousness. (Hebrews 10:19-22)

So, why did the man in the parable have no wedding garment? He had not been given one! He did not have the righteousness of Jesus covering him, and he was bound hand and foot and cast into hell. This is a great warning to us! This man fully expected to be a partaker in the wedding feast, he was like those in Matthew 7:22 who cried Lord Lord, have we not done all these wonderful things in your name? They were saying "we know you Jesus, we love you"! But what did He answer? "I never knew you: depart from me you who practice lawlessness (or, unrighteousness)."

What about you? Do you profess Jesus as your Lord and Savior, but continue to live as though He is not? Jesus gave a very strong warning: "Not every one that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21)

Many will probably say, "but we are not saved by our works, only by faith in Jesus Christ!" This is very true. "For we ourselves also were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit; Whom he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying, and these things I desire that you affirm constantly, that they who have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men." (Titus 3:3-8)

If God has saved you, then you will be bearing fruit, you will be keeping His commandments. When you sin you will hate it and repent, turning away from it to God. Please, examine yourself. If there is little or no fruit in your life, fear! Fear God, and cry out to Him for mercy! Do not go on living without fruit and expect to go to Heaven. Jesus said, "Every tree that brings not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire." (Matthew 7:19)

Many do not understand how they can bear the good fruit of righteousness, they try and try to obey but more often than not, when temptations come they fall right into them. Are you like this? Do you find it hard to believe that those who are saved will bear good fruit?

The answer again is in the Bible: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17) When God saves us, He creates within us a new person, we are not the same! If you are the same, then again, I say: fear! Fear God and cry out to Him for mercy!

Examine yourselves, whether you are in the faith; prove your own selves. Know you not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, unless you are counterfeits? (2 Corinthians 13:5)

Spared from Destruction!

Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed for destruction. Proverbs 31:8

On October 28th last year, a little girl was appointed for destruction. Her mother had been lied to and believed her to only be a blob of tissue, yet this precious girl was fully formed and only needed time to grow. She never guessed that within a couple of hours her life would painfully be snuffed out. Yet God intervened. He sent my Mother and Lori, another Sidewalk Counselor to talk with Dana, to show her pictures, proving that her baby is a person. Dana changed her mind about getting an abortion and on May 21st gave birth to her little girl...

Taylor LeAnne

God has a purpose for this little one to be alive, we pray that He will use her to glorify His name. This was the first time our family has been able to hold a baby that God has directly used us to save, we are so thankful and we are praising God!

Two weeks later...Dana, her son Nolan, and Taylor

"He that goeth forth and weeping, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." Ps. 126:6

Dana seems to be seeking the Lord, and we are praying for her salvation. Those of you who pray for us should know that you have a part in this as well. God is answering prayer!

My brother Michael also wrote about this Here.

If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?
(Proverbs 24:11-12)

(Pictures used with permission)

A Wedding in Illinois

This weekend, Michael and I took a trip to Illinois to attend a wedding. We traveled the eight hours down on Friday, spent the night at my Aunt and Uncle's, visited with our brother Dan and sister-in-love Basia and their two boys on Saturday, going with them to the wedding. It was Basia's nieces wedding. Yvonne is Polish while the man she married, Juan, is Mexican. It made for an interesting wedding! They had some beautiful music and Yvonne walked down the isle to "Be Thou My Vision", it was so beautiful. Then we went the reception were Michael had been asked to play piano. He played for forty-five minutes and did an astounding job, over-coming the obstacle of a way-out of tune piano, people talking to him while he played, a little nephew "helping" him play and me getting distracted from turning pages for him. He did really well!

During the dinner they had a mariachi band come in and play Mexican music for a long time, it was nice though rather loud. We spent the night again at our Aunt and Uncle's place and returned home on Sunday. We had a nice visit with Dan and Basia and the boys and with our Aunt Charis who spoiled us terribly! :-)

Juan and Yvonne


Dan and Basia, Kristofer (almost 2) and Noah (7 months)

My two brothers!

Noah and I

Michael and Noah

Kristofer

Noah

On the trip home I came down with a bad headache, even Tylenol would not take it away, so Michael drove more than half of the trip. Finally he had to stop and pick up a mountain dew, he let me have some and shortly my headache was gone and I was able to drive again, amazing what caffeine can do! We are very thankful to the Lord for a good trip and for bringing us home safely!

This spring is so beautiful, we are really enjoying it! Today we have a whopping temperature of 88 degrees! Right now I am a little over-whelmed with all the things that need to be done for the garden, it always seems that there is such a short time span in which to squeeze tons of work. Each day must be taken individually and the priorities of that day accomplished. Otherwise, if I lump all the tasks together, they appear to be a mountain that will never be brought down and that is exactly what I tend to do! I have to tell myself to just take it a day at a time, plough through it, things will eventually get done.

God is so faithful, He is so kind and merciful to us! I was thinking about this on our way home from the trip, how He so lovingly answers prayer. Chicago driving can be very stressful and there are many places where you have to merge into traffic, through example my Mom taught me to pray and ask the Lord to make a good clearing while I am merging and God does show Himself faithful every time. The one time I forgot to ask, I had a very hard and a little bit harry time merging, it made me aware of God's faithfulness.

I am so thankful to the Lord that He hears our prayers, He is such a wonderfully kind Father! This makes me think of the work Jesus did on the cross for me, because without Him I would not be able to reach God with my prayers. Proverbs 28:9 "He that turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination." and Lamentations 3:44 "You have covered yourself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through." But now I can come boldly before the throne of grace, where I obtain mercy and grace to help in time of need, (Hebrews 4:16) because Jesus has taken the wrath of God for me and opened up the way into the Holiest of Holies, Hebrews 10:14-22 "For by one offering he has perfected forever them that are sanctified. The Holy Spirit also is a witness to us: for after this he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he has consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having a high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water." He has washed away all my sins and cast them into the depth of the deepest sea, I bear them no more, Micah 7:18-19 "Who is a God like unto you, who pardons iniquity, and passes by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retains not his anger forever, because he delights in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and you will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea." Jesus Christ has reconciled me to God and that is why I can come boldly before the God and Creator of the universe! 2Corinthians 5:19 "...God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and has committed unto us the word of reconciliation." Praise God!

Water from the Rock - Days of Praise

Water from the Rock

April 8, 2009

"Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel." (Exodus 17:6)

This amazing provision of drinking water for the Israelites in the midst of a barren wilderness is surely one of the most remarkable miracles of creation recorded in Scripture. Furthermore, it was not a one-time event, but somehow continued to provide water for them during the entire 40 years they spent in the desert. God provided daily water just as He provided their daily bread. "Our fathers . . . did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:1, 3-4).

The provision was an act of pure grace on God's part, for even after God created the manna for them, the people were about to stone Moses (Exodus 17:4). But their complaint was really against God, so God "stood before" Moses as he smote the rock at Horeb, and a great spring of water burst forth.

This is the first mention of the word "rock" in Scripture, and it is surely significant that the apostle Paul calls this rock a type of Christ. Just as Moses smote the rock with the same rod of judgment which he had used to smite the river in Egypt (Exodus 7:20; 17:5), so Christ had to be "smitten of God" (Isaiah 53:4) because of our sins, before He could fulfill His promise: "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink" (John 7:37).

But once our Rock was smitten, the water of everlasting life was made available freely to all who will drink. The very last invitation of the Bible is: "And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely" (Revelation 22:17). Then, "whosoever drinketh . . . shall never thirst" (John 4:14).

Henry M. Morris

Institute for Creation Research