Where can I find God?

Karen's mother was startled to find her five year old going through a new Bible storybook and circling the word GOD wherever it appeared on the page. Stifling her first reaction to reprimand the child for defacing a book, she quietly asked, "Why are you doing that?" Karen's matter of fact answer was: "So that I will know where to find God when I want him."
Wouldn't it be nice to have her confidence that all we had to do was open a storybook and find God waiting for us? The truth is, we do have such a Book~~the BIBLE!

Many times life throws us questions for which we don't have the answers. It is not always so easy to just open the Bible and find the answer waiting on the page. Sometimes it happens that way and sometimes it doesn't. But what does happen every times is this: When I begin to read the Bible I am reminded of how great my God is. I am reminded that he knows all the answers. I am reminded that I can trust him to show me the way. When I consider this I start to repent for trying to figure things out on my own and I ask him to show me how to handle a situation.

And he always does. The answer may come through a long forgotten memory verse popping into my head. It may come through a message I hear or the lyrics to a gospel song. Most often for me the answer comes unbidden into my mind when I am least expecting it. More times than not,  this word comes early in the morning when I first open my eyes. It is not exactly a voice but it is a knowing of how to handle a situation. I have learned to recognize this as the "voice of God."

 When this answer comes, it usually comes through a part of a verse of scripture that I must look up. When I look it up and read the passage, I find the answer that I seek. Yes, God's word holds the answers. The more of his word we read and memorize, the easier the answers will come. Are you needing an answer today? Break open the book of life and begin to read. You may be surprised what you find!

Sullivan Jones

Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem!
Psalm 122:6

The Power of Prayer

Psalm 5:3 - My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord. In the morning I will direct my prayer unto thee and look up.

The following story was taken from a book by Joy Haney called "Power of Speaking Positive." It is a testimony to the power of prayer. It takes place during WWII.

An airplane carrying captain Edward Rickenbacker and his crew fell into the Pacific Ocean and no trace of the wreckage could be found. There they were with three rafts, which they tied together at night, with no food except a few oranges.

Rickenbacker had been raised in a Christian home and knew the power of prayer. On the second day one of the boys found that he had a Bible in his pocket. The men organized little prayer meetings during the morning and evening and took turns reading the Bible. They humbly prayed for deliverance.

On the eighth day, within an hour of their prayers, a seagull landed on the Captain's head. He reached his hand up gently and caught it. The men wrung the bird's neck, plucked it and ate every bit, bones and all. They then used the innards for bait and survived off of the fish they caught.

On the 21st day they were spotted by searching planes and rescued. It goes without saying that the rescue was miraculous. The men were nothing but a dot on the surface of the ocean. When news of the rescue flashed around the world people wanted to know how they survived. The simple answer was, "we prayed." Rickenbacker acknowledged that their deliverance came through prayer and Bible reading. He wrote a book called "Seven Came Through" about their experiences.

One of the their favorite passages during this time was Matthew 6 - "Take no thought saying, "what shall we eat or what shall we drink" ... Can you imagine being lost in the ocean and praying that prayer. Yet it worked. If God can feed 8 men lost on a raft in the middle of the ocean what can he do in your situation? The answer is simple - Anything you believe him for! We serve a God of miracles. If you need something today and the answer seems like it would take a miracle, ask the God of miracles and see what he will do.

HE NEVER FAILS!

Trusting Him Daily,

Sullivan Jones
 

He knows the way that I take

Job 23: 10 - But he knows the way that I take. 

Have you ever felt like a stranger? I remember my first impression of Honduras. I arrived in the country late in the day and by the time I was in the Missionary's vehicle it was completely dark. The streets seemed so narrow and I had the feeling of landing on a foreign planet. Though he was probably driving normally, I felt like the missionary was flying and I didn't know how we could avoid an accident before getting where we were going. It was exhilarating because I was living my dream of spending a year abroad but terrifying because I felt so lost. The idea of being in a place where I didn't know anyone and didn't know my way around was overwhelming at first. I didn't know it at the time, but I was feeling the first waves of culture shock.

As Christians we can feel the same way at times about life itself. The world we live in is such a big place and people do not always share our values for the things of God. We can feel like we are navigating the streets of life in the dark, without knowing how to get where we need to go. That first night in Honduras I was totally dependent on the missionary and I was glad that I could trust him to take me where I needed to go. In the same way, we can trust God to take us where we need to go in this life. We may not always know the way, but the good news is we don't have to. God always knows what we need and he always knows how to get us there.

Lord, I thank you today that though I don't always know my way through this life you are always with me and always provide what I need. Even as David prayed in Psalm 23, you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. I trust you today to keep me safe and provide for me. In Jesus name, Amen.