Comfort Others~

Greetings,

I have a buddy who went through a rough patch recently, and the journey to health and wholeness for her and her family has been hard. It has also been one of experiencing the blessings and direction of God.

Both she and I have lost track of how many times desperate prayers were offered to God for help. But as a result of storming heaven’s gates, a seasoned and trusting faith emerged. And a few days ago, this young woman did something completely extraordinary: She put her hands on someone else having difficulty and prayed for them.

I take that back.  She put her hands on someone else and BOLDLY prayed for healing and peace.

Put yourself in her place.  What would your friend or family member say if suddenly you jumped up, declared you had faith in the living God, and put your hands on their shoulders and asked God for a miracle?

It took guts on her part.  But then again, if she herself has been comforted through her struggles, it only makes sense that she would want others to be comforted.  

Wait, where have I heard that before? 

“Praise be to the God of all comfort who comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

Let’s be bold and generous with our comforting of others.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, thank You for reminding us that You expect us to share the goodness we receive from You.  Make us sensitive to others in need and help us be bold.  In Jesus' name, AMEN~

May Peace and Mercy Outweigh Evil

1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”

By now we have all seen the heartbreaking news of the horrible attack yesterday in Las Vegas. As I watched the news I couldn't stop the tears. My own kids have gone to many outdoor events, and the thought that a crazy evil person could do this to them. Well, let's just say that sometimes my faith falters...

At one point I asked myself if praying at a moment like this even makes a difference.  Would it do any good to ask God to comfort those who have lost a loved one? Why so much evil? Does the Lord even care?

Faltering faith is not the same as having no faith.  It just means that sometimes we are shaken, but then we press on, connect with God, cast our anxiety on Him, give Him all our worries, and throw the whole weight of our concerns upon Him.

When we do that our load lightens. 

The truth is that my faith is always strengthened after I pray.  I may have to connect with the Lord several times in a day to keep the faith, but that's okay: He puts no limits on me or you.

As we pray today let us believe we are making a difference.  Let us accept as fact that God hears and responds.  Let us push past the fear and doubt and trust that God cares for us and answers our calls for help and protection.  Let us invite the Lord to pour out His peace on our weary nation. Yesterday our President invoked this Bible verse: "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds" (Psalms 147:3).  Let us accept this as the gospel truth!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for Your unconditional love for us.  We are heartbroken for yesterday's victims.  So much destruction and heartache - but we believe that You have the power to help and to heal. Pour out Your goodness into Las Vegas and into the United States of America.  We ask for Your divine protection from all the dangers in this world. May Your peace and mercy outweigh the evil in this country. Cover the wounded and hurting in Your love.  Cover us in Your love too. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

From Head to Toe~

Psalm 103:1(The Message version)

O my soul, bless God.
    From head to toe, I’ll bless His holy name!

What, you are asking yourself, could make Yenise want to bless His name from head to toe?

There are many things, but today I am feeling this way because of a particular and precious young woman.  She went through a really rough patch a while back, and while the journey to health and wholeness for her and her family has been hard, it has also been one of experiencing the blessings and direction of God.

I have lost track of how many times desperate prayers were offered to God.  But I do know that as a result, a seasoned and trusting faith has emerged. And a few days ago this young woman did something completely extraordinary: She put her hands on someone else having difficulty and prayed for them.

I take that back.  She put her hands on someone else and BOLDLY prayed for healing and peace.

Put yourself in her place.  What would your friend or family member say if all of a sudden you jumped up, said that you had faith in the living God, and put your hands on their shoulders and asked God for a miracle?

It took guts on her part.  But then again, if she herself has been comforted through some really difficult moments, it only makes sense that she would want others to be comforted.  

Where have we heard that before? 

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, Who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted.

It's the Pay it Forward principle again.  Let's be bold and generous with our comfort.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for reminding us that You expect us to share the goodness we receive from You.  Make us sensitive to others in need, and help us be bold.  In Jesus' name, AMEN~

Pay it Forward~

Every once in a while I receive a surprise blessing.  Today I will share with you what someone shared with me yesterday in the late afternoon. 

 

A colleague came in to say that while at a restaurant with his family--a party of nine total--a complete stranger came up to him, told him he had a beautiful family, and that he was going to pay the $500+ dinner tab.  The generous stranger simply said, "Pay it forward."

 

I love the idea that my colleague came up with.  He instructed each of his kids to think about a good cause they could donate to in honor of the kind gesture they all received.  I will keep you posted as they have a week to think it over.

 

This concept of "pay it forward" is actually biblical.

 

2 Corinthians 1:4-5 (The Message) "He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, He brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us."

 

One of the purposes for that inexplicable difficulty you went through was so that you could share the comfort you received in the middle of it.  

 

Think about a time you were going through some struggles. Think about how God brought you out of it.  Then be willing to pay it forward.  The world can not work if we never give.  If you never made a phone call, or visited someone who was ill, or wrote a little note of encouragement, or sent flowers, or invited someone to the movies, or prayed for someone, or even made an anonymous cash donation, you would miss out on a blessing and so would someone else.

 

Where would you be today if no one had ever reached out to you?  I just might still be holed up in a corner somewhere feeling miserable and scratching my ankles.  You get the idea.  Glory!

 

PRAYER:

Dear Lord,

We are grateful for the times others have comforted us; they were sent by You to really make a difference in our lives.  We are committed to doing the same for others.  Thank You that You will bring the right people our way; we will pay it forward.  In Jesus, name, AMEN~

You're Blessed When You Care~

Good morning:)

Do you ever get tired of all the bad news?  I sure do, so it's time we share something good.  An upfront thanks to Pam for providing an inspiring story.

She has been a pediatrician here in Miami for several years.  It's been a fulfilling job, but when the fine folks at Samaritan's Purse came calling--looking for someone willing to go on a medical missionary trip, Pam enthusiastically agreed.  It would be a two-week adventure into places so remote that they had never even had medical care.  

Hard to imagine given that on every street corner in Miami there's a pharmacy of some sort.  Among all the things I repeat--almost daily--is that we live in America.  If we forget something or need something, we can easily get it--24 hours a day too.

One time the local Latin cafeteria was closed for renovations, and Jorge could not get his 3AM cortadito.  It bordered on the tragic, but he survived.  My oh my, how blessed we are in this great nation!

Nevertheless, imagine never ever having been to a doctor.  Your baby never having an inoculation--not having an aspirin handy for a headachey spouse. Well, these were exactly the kind of folks Pam was about to minister to.

That word--MINISTER--is a noun but also a verb that dictionary.com defines as "give service, care, or aid and/or to contribute to comfort and happiness."

It's one thing to minister from the comfy confines of a plush sofa surrounded by A/C, and I am not knocking that.  But it's another thing entirely to fly by plane to a foreign country, only to have to board a twin engine prop plane to fly deep into the jungle then board a tug boat to finally arrive at your destination.

Just for getting on that prop plane I will forever hold Pam in high esteem.  I think I might have freaked out at that moment--fallen on my knees and asked God to surround me with extra strong angels--the kind that do Crossfit--who could carry me on their wings away to safety...But here is what I love about Pam.  Not only is she a calm and soothing soul.  Seriously, talk to her for five minutes and it will lower your blood pressure.  But her priorities are in order.  Do you know what she was thinking about as she was on that rickety old plane?  

Trailblazers.

Tune in tomorrow:)

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, Thank You that there are plenty of opportunities to minister right here where we are.  But thank You that there are those willing to leave the comfort zone for the sake of others.  The important thing is that when we make an effort to give service or comfort another, we ourselves will be comforted. Matthew 5:7 says, "“You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for."  Amen to that! In Jesus name we pray, Amen~