Jesus With Us Now

A Gazelle

2012-02-01T17:22:00.001-10:00

Every morning when the sun comes up, a gazelle wakes. He knows that he must outrun the fastest lion or he will be eaten. When the sun comes up, the lion wakes. He knows that he must outrun the slowest gazelle, or he will starve. Someone has surmised that In the end it doesn't matter whether you are a lion or gazelle; when the sun comes up, you better be running !!
Do you wake and start running? Paul had Olympic running in mind when he wrote: You know that in a race all the runners run but only one wins the prize, don't you? You must run in such a way that you may be victorious. (1 Corinthians 9:24) Run, live, discipline in faith. Faith finds victory in Jesus through the Holy Spirit.
But, two types of running you do not want to do. Do not to run from someone elses' pain, but to touch them with Christ's compassion which lives within you as you bring Christ's healing and new strength to them (Henri Nouwen). And, do not run from God in the morning because you will scarcely find Him the rest of the day (John Bunyan). Run each day with the Lord !!

Shepherds and Report Cards

2012-01-25T18:19:00.002-10:00

To be Christian surely is to be teachable. Our daily lessons are not on an invisible chalkboard dangled down from heaven by God, but are those which can arrive even before we have had our first cup of coffee. One of mine came as an invitation from a first grade boy in my neighborhood who said to me, "P-trisha, come to Church this morning because I am a shepherd and I get to hold the only staff of all the shepherds !!" That morning he taught me the joy of inviting someone to Church because something exceptional is going to happen.

Our lessons are given to us through other people and we choose to make opportunities to give teachable lessons out too. My sister wrote that the report cards were handed out today and one of the girls in her class came to her upset because she thought she had made an F, a failing grade on the report card. Margaret gently showed her that the F was not a grade, but the indication that she is a female. All of us make mistakes, some more humorous than others. I hope one day that girl will remember my sister's kind way of teaching her and imitate my sister's way of how to correct someone else.

You are teachable and you have a winning witness as you try to understand and to really love one another. When you know God, you try and do what is right in His sight. It is because of Christ that you take the Way of constancy and love. Love leads to forgiveness. A man said to John Wesley, "I never forgive." Wesley responded, "Then I hope sir that you never sin." Forgiveness allows you to begin with love and common sense as you face others' differences. Forgiveness shows that Jesus has been teaching you.

Super What?

2012-01-18T16:50:00.002-10:00

One day Lamar Hunt, the man who started the American Football League and owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, came across his daughter's Super Ball and was given the inspiration for the name of the championship game between his upstart AFL and the old guard National Football League. "Why not," he wondered, "call our championship game the Super Bowl?" The name caught on quickly and thus, an American tradition was born.
While necessity is not always the mother of invention, many times inventiveness can come out of a small moment of God's spark of creativity like it happened in Mr. Hunt's life !! Recall with me that after the great depression someone wanted to sit out on their front porch and quietly swing, and the spark of creativity caused the porch swing to be invented. Aided by the swing on the front porches of their homes, families took time to talk, sing, play games, and socialize with neighbors.
God's spark of creativity can give you an idea that is remarkable, can be used by many people, and can be the beginning of good things happening in your life. It has been just that for us at Alpha Church. Over twelve years ago God's spark of an idea for the first online Church was placed within our hearts and we have been serving Christ in this unique way ever since. Please join your heart with ours and accept this invitation for you to help us with a creative idea that is good for our Church. When God is sparking then inventiveness happens !!
contact(at)alphachurch.org is our email

The Painting About Fame

2012-01-15T16:31:00.002-10:00

Today I took a short break from work and went to the 'free' day at the local Art Museum. It was filled to the brim with art gazers and the attendees included many children who were seated at long tables which had been set up for them to draw/color and they were encouraged to view the gallery. Amidst all of this, I had one painting that I wanted to look at and to study, "The Little Shepherdess" by Bouguereau. Here is the painting, below.

The young woman's eyes follow you wherever you stand, she is robust with health, and her shepherdess' staff is a straight stick upon which she rests her arms in pose. As I studied her, I thought about our topic today, "fame," and how the artist has made her famous because he has so exquisitely captured her in paint with his God given talent for painting in oils. She is a lowly young woman has a slice of fame because the painter has captured her unique spirit on canvas.

The painting reminds us that our lowly lives have little fame excepting that which God uses as we serve Him, shepherding and loving others as Jesus has instructed us. When you arrive at the place were you have an opportunity for fame then you too have the opportunity to point to Jesus Christ because fame causes us to give all the glory to the Lord.

May God bless you as you go about your routines in life, serving Christ with regular faithfulness, Patricia

A New Thought

2012-01-12T13:42:00.002-10:00

Not long ago there was a successful factory that made drills. One day the owner told his corporate officials that he was going to retire and that he had chosen his son as his successor. At the next board meeting the son asked his four vice presidents, "What are your goals for the company for the next five to ten years?"

One vice-president replied, "Well sir, we’re looking at new sizes and shapes for different drills."

The son then dropped his bombshell. "I have news for you - there is no market for drills." One could feel the tension in the air. He continued, "From now on we will not think drills. We will not sell drills. We’ll sell holes! People don’t want to buy a drill; they want to make a hole!"

As they began to think of other ways to create holes they developed, among other methods, lasers for hole drilling. This attitude change and other innovations kept this company in business while its competitors lost large shares of the market and some even went bankrupt.

When we think together how our Church may benefit from a new thought then we encounter some Church News: from now on we will reduce our Requests to God.

As we concentrate on Receiving God's very best-- let us look for the Lord's spontaneous gifts in our lives, given to us even before we ask. Layers of blessings !!

(story from: Faith For The Journey, by Bruce Larson)

Moving The Rock

2012-01-05T04:19:00.001-10:00

There is an old story about a little boy who was out helping Dad with the yard work. Dad asked him to pick up the rocks in a certain area of the yard. Dad looked over and saw him struggling to pull up a huge rock buried in the dirt. '
The little boy struggled and struggled while Dad watched. Finally, the boy gave up and said, "I can't do it." Dad asked, "Did you use all of your strength?" The little boy looked hurt and said, "Yes, sir. I used every ounce of strength I have." The father smiled and said, "No you didn't. You didn't ask me to help."
The father walked over and then the two of them pulled that big rock out of the dirt. Just so, when we are using all of our strength we can gather all the help we need. It is easily done. Begin by looking up to the Lord for His blessing, then simply ask for the help you need. Return the favor if you can.

Bah Humbug !

2011-12-08T07:33:00.001-10:00

"Bah humbug!" can bring smiles to our faces. The expression is from Charles Dicken's story A Christmas Carol. Know someone like Scrooge? Scrooge, the surly old, cranky, miserly loner. His heart is as cold as ice toward the poor and our attention is directed to his withdrawal into his sheltered world where he could feasibly remain for the rest of his life.
Yet, when a profound inner personal crisis occurs to him in the middle of the night, as Scrooge envisions his past/present/future, Scrooge is shaken to his core. We watch as His great awakening from selfishness transforms Scrooge. For, when the transformation pinnacles he is staring face forward into the future and watching himself through the eyes of those nearest to him. It is then that he sees himself as indifferent to people.
With Christ's help he turns his life around, and he becomes generous and compassionate before it is too late. We know that he is a changed man because he is joyous with generosity and a portion of our pleasure at Scrooge's outcome is our hope that if one such person as he can make such a monumental change then it must be possible for ones such as us, who are much less far gone.
Yes, Scrooge's story gives each of us hope- that we too can make needed changes in our lives, with Christ's help. For hope, you see, is the basis for taking the first step into making this Christmas a best one. Our greatest hope is that we would be as caring as Christ is caring.

Twinkies and the Park Bench

2011-12-03T06:35:00.002-10:00

Once there was a little boy who wanted to meet God. He knew it would be a long trip to where God lived, so he packed a suitcase full of Twinkies and cans of root beer (his two favorite foods) and set off on his journey. He had only gone a few blocks when he passed an older woman, sitting on a park bench and just staring at some pigeons. She looked sad and lonely, so the boy went over and sat down next to her. He opened his suitcase, took out a package of the Twinkies and offered it to her.

She gratefully took it and smiled at him. Her smile was so warm and wonderful that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her a can of his root beer. Once again, she took it and smiled at him. The boy was delighted. They sat there all afternoon, eating the Twinkies, drinking the root beers and watching the pigeons, without saying a word to each other.

As it grew dark, the boy realized that he had better get started home and got up to leave. But before he had just a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the older woman and gave her a big hug. She gave him the biggest smile of all.

When the boy got home, his mother noticed how happy he seemed. So she asked him what he had done all day. He told her: "I had lunch with God. And you know what? She has the most beautiful smile that I've ever seen."

Meanwhile, the older woman had returned to her home. Her son also noticed how happy and contented she seemed so he asked her what she had done that had made her so happy. She said to him: "I sat in the park and ate Twinkies with God. You know, he's much younger than I expected."

The Speed Bump

2011-11-23T20:57:00.002-10:00

A substitute Sunday School teacher couldn't open the combination lock on the supply cabinet. So she went to the pastor for help. The pastor started turning the dial of the combination lock, stopped after the first two numbers, looked up serenely toward heaven, began moving his lips silently, turned to the final number, and opened the lock.

The teacher gasped, "I'm in awe of your faith, pastor." "Really," he said, "it's nothing. The number is on a piece of tape on the ceiling."

We too can look up and find either the solution or we can offer a prayerful appeal to God for help. Max Lucado says: God never promises to remove
us from our struggles. He does promise, however, to change the way we look at them.

When God's help is near, your struggle can shrink from mountain sized to speed-bump high. It's great reason for Thanks Giving.

Hungry for the Voice of God to reveal Christ's Way to yo... on Twitpic

2011-10-12T15:16:00.000-10:00

Hungry for the Voice of God to reveal Christ's Way to yo... on Twitpic

Remember Peace

2011-10-05T06:17:00.002-10:00

There was a woman who stood motionless on the platform, her form barely visible in the predawn light. It was the end of World War II and the only sounds around her were the shuffling of the baggage carts ready to receive the loads. The baggage men readied themselves for yet another train. As it pulled in, filled with soldiers returning home, one soldier after another rushed into the waiting arms of friends and family. Hers was a patient wait, knowing that her soldier son would come to her, not walking, not visible. Then, with a heavy heart she ran her fingers along a polished wooden box. He was home and that put her at peace.
Long ago another mother stood silently before the rough wood of an old cross on which her son had died. He had paid the supreme sacrifice for us and his name was Jesus. He had said, "I came that they might have life, " and, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for His friends." As she remembered His words and cherished the thought that for generations to come they would know God through Him, she found peace. Jesus Christ has reconciled us to God, and the great separation was ended when Christ's life united us with the heavenly Father. We give thanks that Jesus' life gave us new life and rebirth in Him. We give thanks that Jesus-alive waits with parents who watch for their sons and daughters to return from war.

In The Hurry

2011-09-29T14:28:00.002-10:00

So whoever has God's Son has life 1 John 5:12a

We can move through the day in a hurry. Our work, appointments, short lunch, classes to attend, errands, home upkeep, choices, deadlines, due dates, and places to be. If we stand still then we may be thinking about where we are next supposed to be. Where does the Lord fit into our hurried lives? Someone asked a similar question of Tennyson.
Tennyson was walking one day in a beautiful garden where many flowers were blooming. A friend who accompanied him said, "Mr. Tennyson, you speak so often of Jesus. Will you tell me what Christ really means to you?" Tennyson stopped, thought a moment; then, pointing down to a beautiful flower, said, "What the sun is to that flower, Jesus Christ is to my soul."
Christ has your answers, He is your life-force, and you are His glorious creation. The result of Jesus Christ as your Savior is that even when you are in pain, suffering from depression, or your heart is hurting, you have the light of Jesus Christ warming your soul with His love. The hurried pace of your days may vary, yet your Savior is consistently moving with you.

She Got Lost

2011-09-15T15:04:00.002-10:00

The story of Helen of Troy is a memorable one. While she was the beautiful ruling Queen she was captured, carried away, and became a victim of amnesia. She became a prostitute on the streets, did not know her name, and never suspected she was from royal blood because her memory was damaged. Back in her homeland her friends never gave up praying for her and searching for her.
One day an old friend who had been searching for her felt very compelled to go to a certain waterfront. There, he found a wretched woman in tattered clothes yet there was something he found a bit familiar about her. He asked her name but her answer gave him no clues. Then he asked her, "May I see your hands?" She held her hands out in front of her and the man gasped. "You are Helen! You are Helen!" shouting now, "Helen, do you remember?!?"
She looked at him with astonishment then the fog seemed to clear from her mind. The recognition began to show in her face and he put his arms around her and wept. She went on to discard the tattered clothing and became the Queen that she was meant to be.
God searches for you in the same way. When you have spiritual amnesia and forget Him during your day or night, God calls you by name. God asks you to show Him your hands and then He wraps His hands around yours to make yours praying hands, then God Almighty tears because you've returned to Him. His desire is that you to always stay close and not get lost.

Indispensable Jesus

2011-09-08T13:01:00.000-10:00

Blaise Pascal was a French philosopher and mathematician in the 1600's who was a defender of the Christian faith against the cynical influences of his time. He said this about the indispensability of Christ: "The God of the Christians makes the soul perceive ... that it can have no joy but in God's love and at the same time abhor those obstacles which hinder it... from loving with all of its strength. Without Jesus Christ people must remain in vice and misery, ... for in Him is all our happiness, our virtue, our life, our light, our hope." Jesus was the one indispensable factor in Pascal's life. Have you discovered that Jesus is indispensable in your life? -- for His love, help, security, trust, forgiveness, blessings, and melodies.

What Happened That Day

2011-08-26T07:48:00.006-10:00

He was at the end of his day
and had been doing what he normally did- Scripture, Song, Study.
That evening, at Aldersgate Chapel,
John Wesley's heart was changed.

In the morning he'd consulted the Bible- II Peter and Mark 12.
In the afternoon he'd listened to the choir at St. Paul's sing Psalm 113.
In the evening he attended a Bible Study at Aldersgate
where they read Martin Luther's Preface to the epistle of Romans.

While it was being read he said that God strangely warmed his heart.

He was following religious rules and trying hard. Then God gave it.
That evening the Spirit warmed his heart. It was so unexpected. Wesley felt led to
pray for those who were persecuting him and he found himself forgiving them.
When the wash of Christ's power like electricity moving through him made
Grace visual for him, the Spirit forged a bond- Christ with Wesley.
It was unmistakable.

I do not know when God will give it to you, I just know that he does give it,
when you immerse yourself in Scripture in the morning,
when you don headphones and visit YouTube for a Scriptural afternoon song,
when you participate in video Skype Bible Study at Alpha Church in the evening.

I know that God does that for others and He will do that for you. He will forge you with Christ too.

Prayers For People Who Can't Sit Still

2011-08-18T15:21:00.002-10:00

Would the disciples Peter, Thomas, and Martha have been diagnosed with ADHD today? Perhaps, yet not being able to sit still for lengthy periods of time can be a real asset in the ministry of winning souls to Christ! Our Church uses people who are willing to work for the Lord energetically and we like the 'go-getters' of the world who offer Christ to everyone. But even the most active believers can become weary and it may affect relationships.
Jesus reminds us that after an extended period of exertion, hard work, and high leveled activity there needs to be time-off. (Mark 6:31) Not only will you be better off for it but your relationships will benefit too. If you ignore your time with the Lord then you'll end up looking at obstacles instead of opportunities. Didn't Peter, Thomas, and Martha find ways to savor life, the Giver of Life, and relationships? Yes they did.
"A relationship takes time together," says William Tenny-Brittian In his book Prayer For People Who Cannot Sit Still. "How can we build a serious relationship with anyone, let alone God, if we only spend a few minutes a day with them? That time together does not have to be sit-still time, though. If some of the best time we spend with our spouses, children, and friends is spent doing things together, why wouldn’t that be true of our time with God?"

When Manipulation Comes

2011-08-10T15:01:00.002-10:00

In Henri Nouwen's book The Way Of The Heart, he describes our society as dangerous: "... a dangerous network of domination and manipulation in which we can easily get entangled and lose our soul." Have you felt this manipulation by society? Perhaps we'd say it is more in the business world, yet it can even enter our faith world.
When programs take precedence over people (or over Christ) then we could be manipulated to tune out His voice.
To tune into His voice each morning, begin by asking yourself, "What was the greatest thing that happened yesterday and how does that relate to my faith in Jesus?" Set your mind on Jesus' and keep Him there throughout the day. Talk with Him and use prayer as a gift to help others. Slip into prayer as easily as a swimmer slips into the water.
Through prayer you trust Jesus. Through Jesus receive His transforming power. "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God-- what is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:2

Finish That

2011-07-24T05:32:00.002-10:00

As my daughter was growing up, if she started something then with God's help she would finish it. She did not drop out half way through the soccer season nor did she skip practicing her band instrument. Sticking with things and seeing her goals to completion provided basis for her love to finish what she starts.
Scriptures say that God brought the Israelites out of Egypt promising that their journey would finish in the beautiful land that He was giving to them. They finished their challenging generational journey through the wilderness clearly focused on God's promise of good things ahead.
God looks at you says there is good ahead for you. God is ready-ing the way for you. God will help you finish what you have started. Continue to reach for the goal that is in Christ Jesus (becoming like Christ) because this makes God joyful. God is proud of your progress. God loves you, tremendously. Philippians 1:6

Remember

2011-07-06T17:40:00.002-10:00

As a boy of thirteen, Nels Ferre left his home in Sweden to come to America. The departure was an unforgettable experience. Ferre remembers that morning.
The family had prayer, each one of the eight children prayed, and when they had finished they walked together to the railroad station. As they stood together waiting for the train, Ferre said, "I could see Mother, her mouth forming words and not saying anything.
Finally the conductor blew his whistle and the train began to pull away ... Mother half ran along the platform and said, "Nels, remember Jesus!"

We need to hear that advice too- stay true to the Lord, to one another, and to the best in yourself.

The Femur

2011-06-22T17:46:00.001-10:00

The famous anthropologist Margaret Mead was once asked this question: What was the earliest sign of civilization in any given culture? The expected answer was a clay pot or perhaps a fish hook or grinding stone. Dr. Mead's answer was "a healed femur." The femur, of course, is the leg bone above the knee.
Dr. Mead explained that no healed femurs are found where the law of the jungle reigns- survival of the fittest. A healed femur shows that someone cared. Someone had to do that injured person's hunting and gathering until the leg healed. The evidence of compassion, she said, is the first sign of civilization.
The first sign of the work of Christ in the life of a believer is an act of caring compassion; later, acts become good habits formed. And when Christ's compassion leads our lives then civilization is our the Kingdom of God on earth. It's home.

Light-Hearted

2011-06-05T06:03:00.001-10:00

Milton Berle said that laughter is an instant vacation.
Actress Carol Burnett got out of a cab one day and caught her coat in the door. The driver was unaware of her plight and slowly began to edge out into traffic. To keep from being pulled off her feet, the comedienne had to run alongside down the block. A passerby noted her predicament and quickly alerted the driver. He stopped, jumped out, and released Miss Burnett's coat. "Are you all right?" he asked anxiously. "Yes," she gasped, "but how much more do I owe you?"

Light-hearted Christians respond with humor to 'events' in our lives. I believe Zacchaeus had a grin on his face when he told Jesus that he would pay back those whom he'd wronged four times what his debt was to them. There must have been great laughter around Jesus and the formerly blind man who said, "I see people and they look like trees walking around." And after the shock of seeing that Jesus resurrected Lazarus, they must have laughed until their bellies hurt as they held their noses from Lazarus' great need for a soak in the river.
Healthy laughter that's good for our souls begins with our Jesus . Always does.

The God Who Used To Smoke

2011-05-25T17:36:00.002-10:00

A long time ago, people similar to us thought that God spoke to them through smoke that both arose from the volcanoes and smoke on the holy altars. Perceptions of God changed when Jesus gave us a true understanding of God- who dearly loves us and is slow to anger, if anger at all. God used to smoke, but not anymore. Yet, some believers say they see smoke again.
Recently there has been talk about the end of the world. Our Canadian Church member, Len, says:
"I believe that the best road to Jesus Christ is by the longest trail. I hope to see many hills and valleys before journey's end. I cannot believe that the Saviour of the world would come, riding on the waves of a mammoth tidal wave or standing atop a gigantic volcano and rise up out of the bowels of this earth via earthquake. That is so contrary to the ways of Jesus. Jesus comes to us in many ways every day. Scriptures says He walks beside us, except when we are weary with trouble, then He carries us. And He comes to us through the Holy Eucharist. The world might end one day, but not by the Hand of Jesus. Not even should His Dad ask it of Him."
So let us point no fingers at others who may have seen a mirage of smoke. Spread the Word, my friend, God doesn't smoke anymore. And Jesus never has.

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Mark 13:32

Stay With Us

2011-05-19T16:15:00.001-10:00

“Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over” (v.29). - spoken by the disciples on the road to Emmaus

That simple spontaneous Scriptural invitation would be repeated nightly, and repeated many thousand years thereafter, by monks offering their end-of-the-day prayers: “Mane nobiscum Domine, quoniam advesperascit” or “Stay with us Lord, for the evening falls.” It is what our Alpha Church monk repeats also.
When our Church was newly formed I met our monk. Someone had just given him a stone retreat in a remote area of New Mexico, and we discussed email and our prayer list. He prays with me for each of you each evening as the sun sets.
I am reminded that merely a thousand years after the disciples Cleopas and Mrs. Cleopas asked Jesus Resurrected to stay with them on the Emmaus road, and while the sun slowly set, musician Henry Lyte opened his greatest hymn with similar sentiment, “Abide with me, fast falls the eventide.”
Eventide is time to ask Christ to draw near and stay with us. Evening prayers bring holy close to our day's labor and He fills our hearts to the infilling of the sanctifying Word, which is Christ, who has been with God since creation was spoken into existence.
"Come Lord Christ, stay with us for the evening falls. Stay with us Lord."

In Our Response

2011-05-12T05:12:00.000-10:00

Rabbi Kushner wrote: Our son Aaron was born in 1963, and he was a perfect child for about the first six months of his life, and then he just stopped growing. And the doctors were puzzled until finally, we found a specialist who diagnosed it as Progeria, the rapid-aging syndrome. And Aaron never grew to be beyond 3 feet tall; lost his hair, was very skinny. His heart started malfunctioning just after his bar mitzvah, when he was 13.
The Kushner's son died and Kushner wrote the book, Why Bad Things Happen To Good People. In it, Harold Kushner says: I don't believe God sends the tragedies so that we will grow spiritually. I believe the tragedy happens for all sorts of reasons: natural reasons, biological, genetic reasons, human cruelty reasons.
Once it happens, I think God's role is to give us the strength and the vision to come through it - and come through it with our faith intact. Christ is with us and so are people to hug us and hold our hands and dry our tears so we don't feel abandoned, not by God and not by friends and family. And then in our response to the tragedy, it is then that we have something good that comes out of it. That is how something good comes out of something bad.

... I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For Thou art with me. Psalm 23

Two To Cherish

2011-05-05T16:51:00.000-10:00

We recently celebrated my parents 60th Anniversary! It was my job to get someone to replicate their Wedding cake and I found Charlotte at the local grocery store, who courageously and prayerfully accepted the task. Charlotte worked from a copied picture of my folks- they were just about to cut the cake. In the photo Mom and Dad looked like they were in love and I have seen times when I thought that look between them is exchanged again.
When it was time to cut the beautifully made replica cake, my daughter and her new husband played 'their song' loud and clear. Mom and Dad's song is, 'No Other Love,' set to Beethoven's sonata. The song is lived out in my parents' love as Christ has kept them together through all these years, with more ahead. And there is another picture that I cherish just as much as their Wedding picture.
With a little amateur photography in his bloodstream, my Dad shot one of the perfect pictures of my Mother. In the photo, my Mother cradles me in her arms (I was around four or five months old) as my mother teaches me to laugh. My happy eyes stare into my Mother's eyes as my belly laughter delights her. It is the sound that is the true Mother's Day gift. Baby laughter. My Dad caught a rare exchange on film and I'm so grateful he did. I'm grateful for them.

May good laughter be your present blessing.

Christ Knows You

2011-04-28T06:14:00.003-10:00

When Christ appeared to the Disciples after the Resurrection, there was one person who missed Him- Thomas. Even though all his other friends said that Jesus had been with them, Thomas doubted it. Then Christ came back to appear to Thomas. A command performance, so to speak.
Christ paid attention to Thomas just like He pays attention to you. Whether you have a little or a lot of doubt, Christ knows you. Your faith matters to Him. Doubts are a part of our sifting through what we believe and how we believe it.
Frederick Buechner in his book Wishful Thinking writes: ... if you don't have any doubts you are either kidding yourself or asleep. Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith. They keep it awake and moving.

John 20:24-31

The Agony Of Defeat

2011-04-21T16:08:00.001-10:00

For years, the opening of "The Wide World of Sports" television program illustrated "the agony of defeat" with a painful ending to an attempted ski jump. The skier appeared in good form as he headed down the jump, but then, for no apparent reason, he tumbled head over heels off the side of the jump, bouncing off the supporting structure.
What viewers didn’t know was that he chose to fall rather than finish the jump. Why? As he explained later, the jump surface had become too fast, and midway down the ramp, he realized if he completed the jump, he would land on the level ground, beyond the safe sloping landing area, which could have been fatal. As it was, the skier suffered no more than a headache.
Remember with me a deep dark night long ago, men with torches came to arrest Jesus and take him to the Roman magistrate for the trial of His life. This looked like the agony of defeat for the innocent. With what appeared like He acted with no apparent reason, He chose the agony of the painful ending of His life on the cross, all without fear.
Believers watched as through His own blood He vividly signaled that He chose to defeat the enemy. Jesus' death claimed the once-and-for-all-time Victory over evil. Jesus' resurrection canceled the fatal ending for those with faith in Him.

The Newbie

2011-04-08T13:02:00.001-10:00

Sometimes doing the only thing that we know to do at the time is the right thing to do. A pastor tells the story of a newbie, a young ministerial student who was working at a church as a summer intern. He went over to chapel on Sunday morning to serve Holy Communion but he was scared because he had never served Communion alone before.
The Service was printed on a laminated card, which started with the Invitation to Communion, followed by the Prayer of Confession and the Prayer of Consecration. Then, just before the people come forward to receive Communion, the minister would stand and face the congregation and say, "Hear these words of comfort from the Scriptures," and there is a space left blank so the minister might use a favorite Scripture from memory.
The young man's mind went blank at this point and he spoke the only Scripture that he could think of at the time, "Jesus wept." He felt bad about offering that as the Scripture of the morning until after the service one member said to him, "That was so meaningful to me because it made me suddenly realize that the Healer of our pain is the feeler of our pain!"

Easter Time Eyes

2011-04-02T16:35:00.002-10:00

A beggar was sitting across the street from an artist's studio. The artist saw him and thought he would make an interesting portrait study so from a distance he painted the defeated man whose shoulders drooped, and whose eyes were downcast and sad. When he was finished, he took the portrait over to the beggar so he could look at it.
"Who is that?" the beggar questioned. The painting bore a slight resemblance to himself, but in the painting before him he saw a person of dignity, with squared shoulders and bright uplifted eyes, almost handsome! He asked the artist, "Is that me? I don't look like that." But the artist replied, "...but that is the person I see in you."

Does the artist see the beggar that way because he is an artist or is it because he is an artist that he can show the beggar his personage of worth? I believe it is the latter. Jesus tells us that the eye is the lamp of the body (Matthew 6:22). The Message Bible says, your eyes are the windows to your body and if you open up your eyes wide in wonder and belief then the Light of Christ will fill up your body but if you live squint- eyed in greed and distrust then your body is a dank cellar.

What About Lent?

2011-03-17T16:58:00.002-10:00

We arise in savings-time darkness in the mornings. That darkness can remind us of the Arizona shootings on January 8th in the United States, and the crime wave of brutality and corruption in Mexico, and the uprising and government overthrow in Northern Africa, and the turmoil in the Middle East, and much crime and loss in various places around the globe, and the vast destruction by the 8.9 magnitude earthquake in Japan with the terror of that tsunami.
We share in the pain that tragedy has been wrought on so many. We hear the cries and suffering, and our souls join the anguish. Terrible has happened. We realize, as if we did not prior, that there is plenty in our world right now that shows the smudges of Lenten ashes of our own short lifespans, and we continue to squint at the long-distance focus of an ultimate view of what is right and good.
From the Garden of Eden where death entered, to the tomb of the Resurrected Christ where eternity was gifted to us, we see with right sight that Jesus has gained the victory over the darkness of death, disease, and destruction. What external hardships and agonies that have sought to extinguish the Light of Christ within us have blown the flame brighter and lit up the shadows that shielded sorrow. The Light shows that we are people of prayer, action, and dependence on our Savior.
At one time, we were a people who walked in darkness and now, without a doubt, our Resurrected Christ is giving us the light of hope. We thank Him for His comfort and care no matter what horrible things occur during our lifetimes.

Think Of The Cross

2011-03-06T16:44:00.002-10:00

George Matheson was a great preacher and hymn writer who lost his sight at an early age. He thought of that infirmity as his thorn in the flesh and as his personal cross. For several years he prayed that his blindness would be removed. Like most of us, I suppose, he believed that personal happiness would come to him only after the handicap was gone. But then one day God sent him a new insight: the the creative use of his handicap would actually become his personal means of achieving happiness!

It was then that Matheson wrote: "My God, I have never thanked Thee for my thorn. I have thanked Thee for my roses, but not once for my thorn. I have been looking forward to a world where I shall get compensation for my cross, but I have never thought of the cross itself as a present glory. Teach me the glory of my cross. Teach me the value of my thorn. Show me that I have climbed to Thee by the path of pain. Show me that my tears have made my rainbow."

When you thank God for the worst; when you praise our Lord for the pain you cannot deny has come your way; and when you say hallelujah for the trial that tests, then you are willingly receptive of God's lessons. Even through, God shows you similar care that He bestowed on His beloved Son on the cross. God's teaching you that from the inside out, your personal cross bears the imprint of Christ's crown of thorns in present glory.

When He Went His Own Way

2011-02-24T07:09:00.002-10:00

AlphaChurch.org
Victor Hugo begins Les Miserables with a story of Jean Valjean. He is an ex-convict who has just been released from nineteen years in prison for stealing bread to feed his sister's children. As he reenters society, no one will house him or give him work because of his criminal record-- that is until he stumbles into the bishop's house.
Much to Valjean's bewilderment, the bishop treats him with kindness and hospitality. Seizing the moment, Valjean steals the bishop's silver plates and then flees into the night. The bishop's reaction to Valjean's treachery is not what we might expect. Instead of being angry and offering condemnation, the bishop examines his own behavior and finds himself lacking in charity.
"I have for a long time wrongfully withheld this silver; it belonged to the poor. Who was this man? A poor man evidently," he reasons to himself. So when the police arrive with the captured Valjean, the bishop's silver in his possession, the bishop calmly greets the thief and says, "But I gave you the candlesticks also ... why did you not take them along with the plates?" The police, surprised and confused, reluctantly let the thief go.
As Valjean goes his own way he begins to be changed by the bishop's gift. Valjean has not been condemned to another jail cell but he is given more than he imagined. His life is different now and when he can do something for someone else that is over and above what is expected of him, he does it. Our life-changing moment comes when we receive the gift of Christ in His dying for us and His resurrection gift. No gift compares.

Fishing With Grampa

2011-02-16T17:35:00.002-10:00

I only knew one Grandfather while I was growing up and he was my Grandmother's second husband. She had been widowed prior to that and this Grandpa of mine taught me to sing WWI songs, crack pecans, and go fishing for bass. I was the only kid in the family that loved fishing and so when it came time to awaken at four in the morning and drive out to the nearby lake, I went.
Grandpa would back the boat trailer into the water and the boat would float off of it. Once we were in the boat he would start up the motor, it sputtered to life, putt-putted us out onto the water, and Grandpa steered it by hand. He had just three 'secret' spots to fish. I felt the best part of fishing was having minnows on the hook because the line never stayed still.
Grandpa taught me to feel the tug of the line by putting my thumb over the taunt line on the reel. When the tug, tug, tug came I understood that I was to start reeling and Grandpa would man the net. I believe that Christ invites us to become disciples in a similar fashion. Christ invites us to follow Him and learn the ways of the Holy Spirit which can feel like tugging on our hearts.
Now, when we are out fishing with Christ for people, to bring people into His Kingdom, we leave the net behind and let people be attracted to belief in Him themselves so that they get into the boat of Christianity on their own. And we never throw them back in, no matter what.

Burned Biscuits

2011-02-13T06:27:00.006-10:00

Someone shares their memory of dinner:

When I was a kid, my Mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work.. On that evening so long ago, my Mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned biscuits in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed!

Yet all my dad did was reach for his biscuit, smile at my Mom and ask me how my day was at school. I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that ugly burned biscuit. He ate every bite of that thing... never made a face nor uttered a word about it!

When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my Mom apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits. And I'll never forget what he said: "Honey, I love burned biscuits every now and then."

Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, "Your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she's real tired. And besides - a little burned biscuit never hurt anyone."

My friend, when we allow understanding and love to work their blessings in a relationship, those things that we could let bother us dwindle in comparison to the meaningful focus that the Lord has put us together for His good purpose- we can break burned biscuits together and we surely will give thanks.

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.... James 4:8

14,000 Uses For Salt

2011-02-07T14:35:00.001-10:00

Jesus says, "You are the salt of the world."
Your language may be sprinkled like salt with the truth of Jesus Christ, the believers language may be convicted by the Holy Spirit, and your language may allow the Lord to speak through you to the other persons or people. Sprinkling your language with these will melt the cold and warm up others with Christ's Presence.

The Right Idea

2011-01-26T17:48:00.002-10:00

Nearing his neighborhood Church during his daily walk, a young man saw that some shrubbery was on fire. He banged on the main door to the Church and told the woman who opened it to call the fire department. She ran to the phone and he heard her place the call. She identified herself, gave the location, and explained the situation.
"You mean to tell me," said the emergency dispatcher, "that there is a burning bush on the Church lawn and you want to put it out?"

Truly, our religious 'roots' always remind us to take a second look. We may see the Good Samaritan already helping at the scene of an accident, or our neighbor who lost something and asks us to search all day with her to find it, or we may walk outside one summer morning and notice that there are weeds sown in with the wheat in our new wheat field.

But if you would stand listening for God to speak a second time from a burning bush on Church holy ground while the fire truck is on the way, then consider the fact that hose water just may not put it out. And wouldn't that dispatcher be happy he mentioned it.

Walk in the newness of life. Romans 6:4

Celebration of Life!

2011-01-22T17:26:00.003-10:00

When Jesus tells a story that has a special meaning, the crowd that is listening is so touched that many lives are changed. The people go home to their families with a different interest, spirituality, and loving appreciation for each person. There are some people in the crowd who are never the same again after hearing Jesus' parable of the Prodigal Son.

If you are a new Christian, we invite you to highlight this story in your Bible and periodically read it to remind yourself about love, homecoming, and lost/found.

If you've been a believer for years and the story of the Prodigal Son is a old story for you, we invite you to hear about it today in a new way, with a new appreciation for the message that Jesus has for you, and with an open heart to what Jesus would like for you to take away from Worship to impress on others about the message of His love.

Unlikely Use By God

2011-01-19T17:25:00.002-10:00

It was unlikely that God would use one combination: Moses and Miriam. Moses had occasional emotional outbursts and stuttered. She was somewhat of a manipulator of people. Situations came out best her way. Of course, Moses was nowhere that he should have been when God needed him to begin the Exodus-- out in the desert, avoiding authorities and personal responsibility.

The burning bush God spoke from got his attention and obedience. "I am," God said, and that brought him to his senses. 'I am' needed the brother-sister combination to get God's people headed the right direction as a community gathered faith filled Promise walkers. God's promises, never changing, allowed their full dependence on Him and in their dependence they accomplished the journey God intended for them.

If Moses and Miriam had not gotten the Jewish nation walking then we might not have known the sentence completion. For God said all, in form we recognize, when through His Son spoke, "I am ... Light, Truth, Bread, the Same, and Agape." The agape love shown in Jesus' touch, presence, uplift, and Resurrection. Because in His Resurrection is our hope and our strength in Him.

Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. Isaiah 40:31

The Blind Song Writer

2011-01-17T11:30:00.003-10:00

Fanny Crosby was six weeks old when an eye inflammation was treated incorrectly by a stranger who had made a house call in place of the family physician. Fanny was left permanently blind. Rather than hold bitterness against this man, Fanny believed this was the means God used to consecrate her life's work. By the time she became a teen she had developed an extraordinary talent for playing the guitar and writing hymns.
In 1843, at the age of 23, Fanny became the first woman to address the United States Senate. Along with other friends who were blind, she wanted to convince the government that blind people could be educated if properly trained. As a result of her moving presentation she became a friend to several Presidents. These friendships-in-faith blessed her to sustain her impetus to keep the issue before the public.
One time a Scottish minister told her that it was just tragic that God did not give her the gift of sight. Imagine his surprise when Fanny answered with obvious sincerity, "If I had been given a choice at birth I would have asked to be blind ... for when I get to heaven the first face I will see will be the One who died for me." Let us cherish our favorite Crosby songs like 'Blessed Assurance,' and 'To God Be The Glory' (and there are many many more) for Fanny meant them for us!

Heard In The Night

2010-12-27T16:34:00.002-10:00

As I was nearing the time to give birth to my daughter; a question arose during a phone conversation with my mother. I was wondering why the baby cried after it was born. Mother is a retired registered nurse and one of her first unexpected experiences as an on-duty nurse was to birth a baby in an elevator as the delivering mother was hurriedly being escorted to her doctor on an upper floor of the hospital.
"The first cry of the baby has a biological purpose," Mom said, "The crying pushes new air into the child's lungs and new blood flows to the opposite side of its heart." The first breath comes with the first cry of the baby. Jesus' cry signaled His first breath like ours. And as His cry floated up through the thin cool night air on that Bethlehem night it alerted parents ears attuned to a newborn's cry that He had been born. They heard this first sound of God's Son on earth with cry, yet heard something else too.
For, you see, during God's honor of breathing first breath into each new child, when it came down to breathing Life into God's own Son, God's heartfelt cry of glory mingled with the Babe's own. It was the glory hallelujah of heaven's moment when a real Way, a directional path that lived within the Christ child, was made permanent through Jesus so we might personally receive God grace, love, and forgiveness. Its beginning was the Newborn's cry bringing us new birth within Him.

2010-12-27T15:54:00.001-10:00

Luke 2:1-20 (NRSV)
In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all
the world should be registered. This was the first registration and
was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their
own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of
Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called
Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family
of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was
engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there,
the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to
her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him
in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping
watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood
before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and
they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid;
for see -- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the
people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is
the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a
child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." And
suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly
host, praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favors!"

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the
shepherds said to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and
see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made
known to us."

So they went with haste and found Mary and
Joseph, and The Child lying in the manger. When they saw this,
they made known what had been told them about this child; and all
who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But
Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they
had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Digital Nativity on YouTube

2010-12-17T08:06:00.001-10:00

We are enjoying this, hope you do too!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkHNNPM7pJA&feature=youtu.be

Just Down The Road Christ Is Born

2010-12-16T09:46:00.002-10:00

In a recent poll of adults in the United States, 71% of people surveyed said that they never doubt the existence of God. 60% affirmed a belief in miracles and 60% confirmed the importance of prayer in daily life. The survey shows that for some, the road to faith is not automatic and unwavering. Yet, even when Christ is born just down the road for some people belief can be difficult. People come to Christ by many routes.
Some grow up in households where faith is assumed as part of a heritage. They may consistently worship Christ with a heartfelt faith from childhood through adulthood. Other people leave organized religion for awhile and return to Christ later with an unsurpassed love for Him. But even staunch believers may have a time when they feel far from Christ. This may happen for no reason or it may be that the reason is something, a sin, that has put a barrier between Christ and themselves.
They may have forgotten that Christ said that He will not cast out anyone who comes to Him. (John 6:37) It is time anew when the road to the birthplace of Jesus can bring them back to Him, at Christmas-time when we receive Jesus in the manger of our hearts. Proverbs 20:27 tells us, "The human spirit is the lamp of the Lord." So, as we pay attention to our yearnings so too will the Lord then draw us along the path to where we meet Him-- with joy, adoration, faith, and our love.

Warmth at Christmas

2010-12-11T13:44:00.001-10:00

As the busy-ness of the Christmas season blows a cold gust into your life be sure to have the warmth of Christ in your heart.

Stoke the warm glow of Christ's love by putting Christmas logs of spirituality into the fire-

the log of warm Worship found at Alpha Church,;
the log of warm Scriptural kindling found in Matthew chapters 5-7;
the log of warm Laughter whose source is our joyful Christ;
and, the log of warm Loving words that quickly warm others with blessings.

Joy

2010-12-08T17:06:00.002-10:00

AlphaChurch.org
Jesus came down from heaven to be born as we are born, live as we live, and to bring us good news of great joy. Because of this good news there is an outpouring of joy. When Mary, pregnant with Jesus, goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth, the baby John leaps for joy in Elizabeth's womb. We remember that the angel has already told baby John's father, Zechariah, that his miracle baby son will be a joy and delight as He ushers in the Savior of the world.
We recall that Mary's heart overflows with joyful praise as she experiences her great thanksgiving for what God is doing through her because of God's love for us. And when the angel announces the birth of Jesus to the shepherds he says, "I bring you good news of great joy that will be for everyone." (Luke 2:10) All will have this joy!
When the wise men are on their way to Jerusalem and see the star of Bethlehem they are overjoyed. (Matthew 2:10) The joy that fills so many hearts when Jesus is born causes joyful ripples throughout the world-- joyful and generous with loving goodness. Joy causes schedules to shift and burdens to be laid aside as holiness imprints true love. Jesus is joy.

Will You Trust Jesus

2010-11-21T05:32:00.002-10:00

There are instances where progress is made in healing when we take the path of acceptance.

There was a minister who was stricken with a disease called 'tinnitus,' an ailment in which one's ears buzz constantly. During his prayer time, the minister felt himself choose to view his tinnitus as an opportunity instead of a thorn in his side.
He says: "Waking up in the morning, a sound like a thousand crickets is not pleasant. Thanking our Lord that during the day I'm busy and I seldom give in to it, but the din never stops." So, instead of offering unrealistic advice to others he simply says that he went from frantic intolerance and desperate search for relief into a condition of acceptance.
He believes that the greatest honor he can give to the Lord is to live gladly because of the knowledge of the Lord's love. He says: "I let the buzzing in my ears become my unceasing prayer of praise, 'Cry out with joy to the Lord all the earth... Come before Him, singing for joy.'

Jesus instructs us that it is not our problem that determines our destiny but it is how we respond to the problem that matters.
Abandonment does not work for everyone yet there is something that does work; trust in Jesus always works.

It Begins With A Thankyou

2010-11-21T05:28:00.001-10:00

A missionary was in Acapulco, Mexico for two months trying to start a Church. Whenever he got discouraged he looked out and up. He could see a cross on the nearby mountains. That encouraged him. Finally he decided to take a drive and find out about that cross.
He found the cross attached for a large hotel and he went in to ask if he could speak with the owner. "Do you have an appointment?" the woman at the front desk said. "No, I just want to tell him something," Dick said. The woman asked, "What?" "I want to thank him," Dick said. She went to get the hotel owner.
Standing before owner Dick said, "I have been discouraged but I want to thank you for encouraging me; that cross encourages me." "You're the first person to ever say thank you. All I have ever heard about the cross is criticism. Who are you and what do you need?" "I'm a missionary," Dick said.
"Where do you meet?" the owner asked. "We do not have a place." "Come with me," the owner said. He showed Dick a Chapel at the rear of the hotel, "We have Church here at 9:00 and 11:00, and now the 10:00 hour is yours."
The Acapulco Church began with a thank you, as did our Church. I was in a Web-design training class with a group of Pastor's at Perkins School of Theology Minister's Week a dozen years ago when the teacher said, "And who has finished their Web Site?" I was the only one in the class that raised my hand, then I got up and helped the teacher get everyone else to completion. Afterward, I was thanking my Pastor brother for inviting me to the conference, I was telling Bob about the great class when he said, "Hey! Cyber-Church, Patty." It occurred to me simultaneously.
With our Lord, it begins with a thank You.

As A Tree

2010-11-14T04:56:00.002-10:00

In California you can see the giant sequoias, the largest living things on this planet. The General Sherman tree is 272 ft. high, almost as long as a football field, its girth is 79 ft. and it contains enough lumber to build 39 houses. Contrast that to the bonsai tree, which is small, beautiful, ornate and collectible. Its tap root has been cut, in order for it to be maintained as a bonsai.
Think about these two trees: the giant sequoia or the stunted bonsai. They both began the same size. The seeds are each 1/300th of an ounce, yet it all depends on where they are planted. When a tree is planted beside a stream of water it flourishes and it will yield fruit in season.
The first Psalm says: Blessed are you ... when you are like a tree planted by streams of water... and whose leaf does not wither. Streams of living water come from your Lord Jesus. Jesus feeds replenishment to your soul, He draws your roots into His peace that quench your spirit, and He guides your tap root thoughts into His comfort. His living water is life.

The Tender Heart

2010-11-14T04:52:00.002-10:00

We watched tender hearts held in readiness as families camped out in Chilean tents awaiting their men's rescue and return. Adults and children cried as the men came to the surface in The Phoenix. Tears may indicate tender-heartedness. Some children cry more easily when a problem occurs in their lives and these kids are the one who are tagged 'tender hearted.'
Tender hearts are born into a sensitivity in which their surface emotions are more readable. Not long ago a mother shared that her son, tender hearted Jamie, was trying out for a part in the school play. She saw him so very committed to getting a part although she feared that he would not be chosen at all. On the day the parts were awarded she and a neighbor friend walked to school to meet him.
Both young women were there waiting to pick him up when he ran excitedly out of school. "Guess what, Mom?" he shouted, and then said those words that give a lesson and a heart-tug, "I've been chosen to clap and cheer!"
Excellent Jamie, and here's a clap and cheer for your teacher who is tender hearted like Jesus.

... have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind. (1 Peter 3:8)

In Jesus' Steps

2010-10-20T16:18:00.004-10:00

A way for us to understand how pain and suffering fits into God's system is found in the place where all of us return to; Engineers call it the loop end.or Return. During pain and suffering we are ultimately led back to the Cross of Christ (the Loop End) where Jesus suffered and who, in a sense, showed us that there is holiness even in a painful experience. The depth of His suffering is just like your suffering; His pain was deeply intense as is yours; the raw emotion of life's unfairness He fully grasped as do you.
Your intimate connection with our Lord is powerfully fused. Your physical suffering reveals your need for God's care. Your spiritual, mental, emotional, financial, and any other suffering reveals your need to trust God. Jesus understands pain. You and I cannot say, "My pain shows that God has abandoned me," because Jesus, who did not sin, also felt great pain. So we therefore say, "The more I hurt, the more I will trust the heavenly Father, like Jesus has shown me."
Whatever pain you are experiencing, whether physical or mental, allow it move you closer to Jesus and keep you there. Through suffering, more of God is revealed to you, an aspect of holiness that is Sacred. Through your suffering more of God is revealed to the world through you, a witness of your deep faith that is a bridge for our faith during your painful experience. God's love and magnificent healing are given fuller to you because during this time of your suffering you have Christ with you in such a powerful and meaningful way.

1 Peter 2:21 'For this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in His steps.

We Need A Little Of This...

2010-10-13T15:30:00.003-10:00

... God added His testimony by signs and wonders and various miracles, ... Hebrews 2:4

In October an older couple came into the doctor's office. "Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!" the gentleman said to everyone in the waiting room. His enthusiasm was infectious. Most of the patients smiled then ignored the outburst but one young woman decided to respond, "Merry Christmas to you too!"

Sensing a sympathetic ear, the wife quietly said, "It started this past year. For no reason at all my husband would get the Christmas spirit. At first we dismissed it but then we realized how much joy it brought him. So we started decorating the house, singing carols, having a spur-of-the-moment celebration. Honey, after doing all of this a number of times I now look forward to the times when the Christmas mood hits him. Christmas can come anytime, anyplace, and anywhere. It's such a pleasant surprise."

You too can delight in this joy in the midst of October news. Can you ever cease to praise Christ for being our Gift, our Emmanuel? Jesus is God with us! - you are not abandoned. Jesus is with you to share your heartfelt emotions; He will hold you during unexpected tears; should a laugh escape or a smile break through then He has touched you with some healing because Jesus with you is a wonder and your treasure.

Old London

2010-10-03T04:00:00.004-10:00

Years ago when some London ground was cleared of old buildings (buildings that dated back to the days when the Roman army sailed up the Thames and beached on its strand) that land was left bare for months so that the plans for a new railway could be set in place. While the land was bare the naturalists came to see the dirt field.
For, when the sunlight poured its life on this uncovered soil a host of flowers came up that were unknown in England. These were plants that those Romans had brought with them. Formerly hidden away in darkness and lying dormant under the mass of buildings, unseen they were thought died off and disappeared.
Yet, with the warmth of the sun light and their obedience to the law of life, the beautiful flowers escaped from death like slumber to blossom into spectacular beauty. Uncovered, now the beauty had a chance to reveal itself.

Just so, when there is something covered or crushed within us, a sorrow held low, or a failure pushed down deep in the darkness, it is Christ's marvelous light that is able to illumine that place. There, God has sown seeds of surprising beauty, unknown until warmed by the new light of Christ. (1 Peter 2:9)

Come Along!

2010-09-27T13:21:00.003-10:00

Dr. Harvey Potoff, a scholar with respect to the apostle Paul, said, "... human beings seek courage, meaning, and wholeness in their lives." It takes courage to look direct into meaning, and with wholeness comes truth and honesty. To the early Christians the gospel had a new life-transforming message. Having experienced the reality of God's transforming work in Jesus Christ, early Christians went out to address themselves to persons- they had a person centered focus.
For some today, the message of the church is akin to a bouquet of flowers not gifted to any friend or companion, just kept for private. It is like the neighbor who, early on Sunday morning, was loading his golf clubs into the car trunk. While lacing up his shoes his neighbor came out to grab the newspaper on the lawn. Walking over with the paper under arm, hello's exchanged, he received the invitation to a game of golf on God's beautiful day.
In declining golf, the man with newspaper still under arm said, "You go have a nice time. I'm going to have some Church time at AlphaChurch.org; it's a really great Church and I love it." The other, finished lacing and tying his shoes, said, "Between you and me, there's something that strikes me as unusual. I've invited you to come with me to golf at least eight times. You have declined, but I've invited you. You know, my friend, you've never invited me to this really great Church of yours."
Offer made, accepted, and that afternoon the golfer had joined his neighbor in front of the computer- courage, meaning, and wholeness shared together in Jesus Christ. "Exactly what I've needed," the golfer said about spiritual blessings he found at AlphaChurch.org

Elderly Woman Stops Intruder

2010-09-20T14:57:00.002-10:00

An elderly woman had just returned to her home from an evening religious service when she was startled by an intruder. As she caught the man in the act of robbing her home of its valuables, she yelled, "Stop - Acts 2:38!" (..turn from your sin...) The burglar stopped dead in his tracks. The woman calmly called the police and explained what she had done.
As the officer cuffed the man to take him in, he asked the burglar, "Why did you just stand there? All the lady did was yell a Scripture to you."
"Scripture?" replied the burglar, "She said she had an AXE and two 38's!"
The woman spoke rightly from her learning sessions. Scripture readies us for even the unexpected. Set your time to open your Bible daily and soak your mind in the Word-- in quiet morning, or an afternoon break-time, or in the evening before rest. The Lord works in all situations when we are centered on the Word.

The Millionaire

2010-09-20T14:51:00.002-10:00

At a church meeting a very wealthy man rose to tell the rest of those present about his Christian faith. "I'm a millionaire," he said, "and I attribute it all to the rich blessings of God in my life. I remember that turning point in my faith. I had just earned my first dollar and I went to a church meeting that night. The speaker was a missionary who told about his work.
I knew that I only had a dollar bill and had to either give it all to God's work or nothing at all. So at that moment I decided to give my whole dollar to God. I believe that God blessed that decision, and that is why I am a rich man today." He finished and there was an awed silence at his testimony as he moved toward his seat. As he sat down a little old lady sitting in the same pew leaned over and said to him: "I dare you to do it again."
Blessings come to us through our giving and these are ours as we are mindful of the Lord's first portion tithe of ten percent and the second mile giving beyond that tithed amount. Christ has been faithful and calls us to respond in faithfulness. As you are giving out of your wallet or pocketbook, the light from the cross of Christ fills your heart with joy in abundance. Christ's way is alive because at Alpha Church you give and the Word goes out. Yet, already He has begun His blessings, before anyone even dared you. I invite you to give to this Church.

...in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8

Weapons of Righteousness

2010-09-01T14:59:00.005-10:00

One never knows when the weapon of righteousness will come in handy. A friend shared some humor with me about a righteous offer. It seems that there was a helicopter that was hovering over a fairly large group of people who were stranded in the ocean due to their ship having sunk. The waves churned and the beating wind of the helicopter's rotors was causing the rescue to be dangerous. Because the helicopter did not have a ladder rope, a regular thick rope strand was thrown down with the shout, "Climb up the rope hand over hand!"
As they followed instructions, the nine men and one woman were climbing for dear life when another shout came from the man in the helicopter, "The weight is too heavy and we're being pulled down. One of you will have to let go! Someone must let go!" The lone woman shouted that she would be the one to do it, she said that she had had a good long marriage but her husband had died three years ago, her kids were all married and happy, and her grandchildren were well. She would be the one to do it. And the men clapped!
Paul tells us that with the weapon of righteousness for the right and left hands we have commended ourselves to the Lord, no matter the consequences. (2 Cor. 6:7) This means that those selfless activities that you perform without fanfare, the tithing of ten percent of your first earnings to the Lord's work of the Church, and the imitation of Christ's ways and words have impact in this world that resound eternal. Your good weapon joins with all those who carry weapons of righteousness. Onward, Christian soldiers.

Response To Grieving

2010-08-21T12:03:00.002-10:00

The tragedy of the wildfires burning out of control across Russia is heart-wrenching. The smoke-laden smog which has smothered cities along with the combination of intense heat has doubled their death rate to 700 people a day. Fire and drought has destroyed 40 million acres of wheat. A severe weather phenomena has taken hold.
The crisis of the Pakistani flooding from the monsoon rains is overwhelmingly sad. Over 1500 people have died from flood related incidents as bridges, roads, and villages have been ripped away. There are not enough helicopters or rafts to pluck people out of the water and those who are left land stranded have no clean drinking water. The severe weather phenomena has ravaged populated areas.
The disaster of the Northwestern China mudslides is misery. Over 1200 people have died and nearly 500 are unaccounted for in the search through mud laden hillsides. Even though large-scale national mourning is rare, the Chinese President bowed his head and led silent tribute on Sunday morning as the 5,000 rescuers and villagers in the town hardest bowed their heads with him. The severe weather phenomena has caused grieving.
Multitudes of people are engulfed in grief. For a person in pain, ordinary tasks are impossible. First, asking, "What can I do?" receives no answer because grief goes so deep. Just go ahead and do what needs to be done, give what is necessary, and do not offer but just do kindness. Second, words of comfort are, "I cannot imagine the depth of your sadness but know that I love you and am praying for you." Third, grieving people are simply focused on survival. It is a time when they cannot reach out to others. Encourage them to get through just five minutes at a time. Fourth, listen well and get them talking about what they have lost, i.e. home, family member, friends, community, Church. Grieving is a long term process and your support and prayers will make a difference and be your witness for Christ.

Utah Teens Lift Car

2010-08-15T06:38:00.003-10:00

Yesterday, three Utah 16 year olds were returning home after registering for school when they jumped into action and lifted a car off of a toddler who had gotten trapped when a woman was backing her car out of the driveway to go to work. Little Isaac Johnson miraculously has no serious injuries.
Those teens experienced the unified strength found when we work together with focused energy. In a similar way the same principle works when we pray together. When we join our prayers together we gain in strength. In prayer unison, Christ's power moves into action.
Our faith relationship with Jesus is vitally important and the heartfelt concerns we lift up to Him in prayer together make the difference in this world. The worldwide Kingdom of God lives within our souls in the strength of Jesus within us. AlphaChurch.org has a prayer list with email recipients around the world and prayer power happen at Alpha Church.

Blue Whales

2010-08-10T11:22:00.002-10:00

Male Blue Whales sing synchronized middle C when calling over long distances for the females to rejoin them. The lowest pure tone playable on a standard B flat trumpet is middle C, played open fingering with no valves held down. Middle C, or doe of doe-re-me, is the most commonly recognized of auditory Science. Smoke alarms play middle C.
In 2003, Astronomers using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory found, for the first time, sound waves from a super-massive black hole. The note they found was then deepest ever detected from any object in our Universe. It is fifty-seven octaves lower than middle C. We cannot hear it so we use Scientific sensory to interpret.
You have a Spirit sensory interpreter that attunes you to Jesus' presence. The Spirit helps you find the middle C of Christ's heart- you know it, it is hard to explain to someone else but you could if you were forced to try, and the beauty of that coordination of your heart with His invests you with Him. It is investment with deepest blessings.

Bread, Rice, and Tortillias

2010-07-14T18:03:00.002-10:00

India, one of the world's fastest growing economies, is reassessing its poverty levels. According to the June 8, 2010 Wall Street Journal, the current level of 27.5% is being upwardly adjusted to 37.2%. In India, the worlds second most populous nation, almost 40% of the people have one small daily meal and that is all. Lord help them.
Sustenance is necessary. In Biblical times bread was the food that sustained. During Jesus' miracle where He multiplies the bread to feed the hungry multitude He declares Himself as the source and sustenance of life. Then some, who think a constant supply of bread would be better, want to make Jesus their king rather than their Lord. On that day some hearts went away hungry.
Food is necessary to life and yet food is simply a half-way point. To come to Jesus the bread of life and to believe in Jesus by faith gives us fulfilling completeness. Peter spoke the worlds of truth for us when he said, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that You are the Holy One of God." John 6:58

The bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world... John 6:33

Stay With It!

2010-06-20T05:42:00.002-10:00

Bob Hope was standing in front of the Woods Theater in Chicago in 1928. He could not get a job and across the street was a restaurant called Henrici's. It had a big open window and you could see people eating. Bob had not been eating well yet he had a lot of confidence that something would happen to get him a better menu.
A friend of his came along and asked him how he was doing, "I'm starving," he replied. "Come with me," he said and took Bob upstairs into the Woods Building and introduced him to a wonderful agent who gave him a job for just one day. After seeing Bob's act he then gave him a job in a band show which played in a Motion Picture House. Bob was emcee there for six months and kept working thereafter.
Bob says that the God's positive influence was that he stuck it out expecting that something had to happen. Regardless of his shortened menu, it did. He encourages: "If you have a thought and you think it's a good one, stay with it." God will not let your foot slip (Psalm 121:3), core motivation to stay with it direct from our heavenly Father.

Memories Made and Had

2010-04-23T05:03:00.002-10:00

We subsist with essentially three elements: food, drink, and inspiration. Take away the first two and we die. Take away the third and our soul withers. You can use your memory to recover an inspirational time and relive it if you are unable to actually go to the place where you felt that moment of inspirational uplift. Even while our experiences quickly become overlaid by other experiences, if an experience was truly inspirational to you then it is set in your memory and can be recalled.

A woman who had been unjustly confined to a Mexico prison, along with her sister, said that she could deal with all of the indignities and inhumane treatment in that prison but what almost killed her was lack of inspiration- no beauty for her eyes to behold and no colors or streaming light for her soul to feast. Her memories were all she had. A different woman called me while I was at my desk one day. She had spoken with four Pastor's before me and said that she felt like she was in hell; would I come see her. In her home she told me about a person who a month ago had stole her business. All that now filled her mind was gray emptiness.

Prior to this she was a woman of vision, dreams, and inventiveness but here she was in misery. All of her enthusiasm was deadened. Finally we prayed and asked Jesus to do something for her. I remember her praying, "Lord I have known you to do amazing things for others, may I have one." As she opened up her eyes her hand moved slowly to her heart and she looked at me in awe. "He's done it already. I know it within me that He has helped me. I know with certainty that my life has worth and momentum." I could see the inspiration of Jesus shining now in her eyes.

Opportunity

2010-04-17T14:02:00.004-10:00

CR Swindoll once said, "We are all faced with magnificent opportunities, brilliantly disguised as impossible situations."

When we take our focus off of ourselves and place our fullest reliance on Christ, who is able to do more than we ever can, our situation changes into a magnificent opportunity for His creative power to work. This means that we give up our strategically detailed plan and yield to His directional purpose.

The way ahead may not seem clear at first; the next step we take may feel like we have just found our golf ball in the grass; and, we may have questions unanswered. Yet, magnificent opportunities are like that at the start.

The Meaning of Easter

2010-04-07T03:43:00.002-10:00

My friend, perhaps when you think of a burning heart you first think of heart-burn. For that you can take an antacid. But when the burning presence of Christ is in your heart you experience a new kind of loving compassion that is the warming fullness of Truth, pure Love, and the presence of Justice!

The meaning of Easter is in Christ because He IS truth, love, and justice. By faith we believe He has Risen from the dead. To celebrate His triumph over death, we give thanks for love's purpose found in His living presence, and we have faith that He lives within our hearts (burning hearts) because we have Christ's presence in power, strength, and assurance.

Christ's holiness bestows communion (unity with other believers) in our lives when we humble ourselves before Him and live in humility as He lived. Christ sanctifies us, makes us holy like He is Holy, and so we witness to others with the way we live, our words, and our acts of compassion.

Biggest Fan

2010-04-07T03:36:00.002-10:00

Of the two hundred and seven women who competed in the Vancouver Olympics fifteen were mothers, with one of the curling mothers five and a half months pregnant. When Joannie Rochette's mother died of a heart attack 4 days before her ice skating competition, mom's around the world watched with pride as she won the bronze medal. Mothers on earth and in heaven were intently supporting their kids as they pushed physical limits.

P & G aired awesome Olympic television commercials: To Their Mom's They Will Always Be Kids, You'll Never Walk Alone, and Thanks Mom, For Being My Biggest Fan- to honor moms who struggled and sacrificed to help their kids become Olympians. During the games we watched as a mom crossed herself before her son's ski jump and he medaled. It was unforgettable when a mom covered her mouth as that son's bobsled overturned and when she cried we cried too.

Moms show us that what looks outwardly like an able bodied young adult to us is, through her eyes, still the kid she is raising. Certainly Jesus' mom was similar. When Jesus' father died, she helped him walk forward. When it came time for a Savior's miracles, she told him to use the water to make wine. But was she off in the darkness awake praying her prayers as he was praying at Gethsemane? Did she want to offer advice as he took the difficult way to the cross? Did she hold her breath as he pushed physical limits? Well ... she must have, because she knew the dream in His heart to save us.

... and a sword will pierce your own soul too. Luke 2:35 (Simeon's words to Mary when Jesus was a baby in her arms)

Not As Important As They Thought

2010-02-03T18:46:00.004-10:00

Remember the situation that the Disciples were in after Christ had Risen: Judas was dead and the remaining Disciples felt that it was of enormous importance to make their number twelve again. Yet they were in so much of a hurry that although they prayed, they used a heathen practice and cast lots to decide who should become the thirteenth Disciple.
By lot the honor fell on Matthias. His unimportance is accentuated because he is never mentioned again in the Scriptures. Filling that vacant spot in a hurry was not nearly as important as they thought it was. In a matter of time Saint Paul became the person they would have appointed had they only waited on the Lord's answer.

Today I met a well known area photographer who told me of his recent personal predicament. For these last years he had sought the right decision in the problem of what to do with his father's and his photographs, a history of eight decades in exquisite visual presentation of Oklahoma heritage.
With six weeks left, and nowhere to store a partial warehouse of historic fine art photography, he became anxious for the Lord's answer. For the first time in his life he fell to his knees. Before, he had been on his knees when receiving Holy Communion at Church but never on his knees praying at home.
During the next hour there were no phone calls excepting one at the close of the hour. Oddly enough, neither his secretary nor his wife answered the call as it rang over and over. He decided to answer the call, lifted the receiver saying hello, and listened intently as the President of Tulsa University offered him the school's archive space. The Lord's answer.

Two Parts

2010-01-29T08:15:00.004-10:00

St. Augustine wrote, "Come Lord, stir us up and call us back, kindle and seize us, be our fire and our sweetness, let us love, let us run." When the Lord stirs us up there are two parts involved. Part one involves us being in trouble of our own doing.
If you have ever felt guilt, ever been hurt by others or have hurt someone else, ever been concerned about how the Lord feels about you after you have acted unjustly or if you have ever withheld compassion then you know trouble. Down in the depth of it within you the Lord stirs your faith where you are unsettled.
Part two involves the Lord's action to rescue you and kindle His love within you. He seizes you close to Him then heals the trouble with fire and sweetness. For when there seems no way for you to run or to get out of trouble faith in Jesus Christ is the only way. With our Lord nothing is impossible.

My Best Christmas ( A Shared Story )

2009-12-22T17:13:00.007-10:00

I have not seen this Christmas story before. It reads as if it is a true story. Recently sent to me by my church member,
this is a heart-warming Christmas story.
May it bless you as it has blessed me, Rev. Walker


My Best Christmas

Pa never had much compassion for the lazy or those who squandered their means and then never had enough for the necessities.  But for those who were genuinely in need, his heart was as big as all outdoors.  It was from him that I learned the greatest joy in life comes from giving, not from receiving.

It was Christmas Eve 1881.  I was fifteen years old and feeling like the world had caved in on me because there just hadn't been enough money to buy me the rifle that I'd wanted for Christmas.  We did the chores early that night for some reason.  I just figured Pa wanted a little extra time so we could read in the Bible.

After supper was over I took my boots off and stretched out in front of the fireplace and waited for Pa to get down the old Bible.  I was still feeling sorry for myself and, to be honest, I wasn't in much of a mood to read Scriptures.  But Pa didn't get the Bible; instead he bundled up again and went outside.  I couldn't figure it out because we had already done all the chores.  I didn't worry about it long though, I was too busy wallowing in self-pity.

Soon Pa came back in.  It was a cold clear night out and there was ice in his beard.  "Come on, Matt," he said.  "Bundle up good, it's cold out tonight."  I was really upset then.  Not only wasn't I getting the rifle for Christmas, now Pa was dragging me out in the cold, and for no earthly reason that I could see.  We'd already done all the chores, and I couldn't think of anything else that needed doing, especially not on a night like this.

But I knew Pa was not very patient at one dragging one's feet when he'd told them to do something, so I got up and put my boots back on and got my cap, coat, and mittens.  Ma gave me a mysterious smile as I opened the door to leave the house.  Something was up, but I didn't know what.

Outside, I became even more dismayed.  There in front of the house was the work team, already hitched to the big sled.  Whatever it was we were going to do wasn't going to be a short, quick, little job.  I could tell.  We never hitched up this sled unless we were going to haul a big load.

Pa was already up on the seat, reins in hand.  I reluctantly climbed up beside him.  The cold was already biting at me.  I wasn't happy.  When I was on, Pa pulled the sled around the house and stopped in front of the woodshed.  He got off and I followed.  "I think we'll put on the high sideboards," he said.  "Here, help me."  The high sideboards!  It had been a bigger job than I wanted to do with just the low sideboards on, but whatever it was we were going to do would be a lot bigger with the high sideboards on.

After we had exchanged the sideboards, Pa went into the woodshed and came out with an armload of wood -- the wood I'd spent all summer hauling down from the mountain, and then all fall sawing into blocks and splitting.  What was he doing?  Finally I said something.  "Pa," I asked, "what are you doing?"  "You been by the Widow Jensen's lately?" he asked.  The Widow Jensen lived about two miles down the road.  Her husband had died a year or so before and left her with three children, the oldest being eight.  Sure, I'd been by, but so what? "Yeah," I said, "Why?"  "I rode by just today," Pa said.  "Little Jakey was out digging around in the woodpile trying to find a few chips.  They're out of wood, Matt."

That was all he said and then he turned and went back into the woodshed for another armload of wood.  I followed him.  We loaded the sled so high that I began to wonder if the horses would be able to pull it.  Finally, Pa called a halt to our loading, then we went to the smoke house and Pa took down a big ham and a side of bacon.  He handed them to me and told me to put them in the sled and wait.

When he returned he was carrying a sack of flour over his right shoulder and a smaller sack of something in his left hand.  "What's in the little sack?" I asked. "Shoes.  They're out of shoes.  Little Jakey just had gunny sacks wrapped around his feet when he was out in the woodpile this morning.  I got the children a little candy too.  It just wouldn't be Christmas without a little candy."

We rode the two miles to Widow Jensen's pretty much in silence.  I tried to think through what Pa was doing.  We didn't have much by worldly standards.  Of course, we did have a big woodpile, though most of what was left now was still in the form of logs that I would have to saw into blocks and split before we could use it.  We also had meat and flour, so we could spare that, but I knew we didn't have any money, so why was Pa buying them shoes and candy?

Really, why was he doing any of this?  Widow Jensen had closer neighbors than us; it shouldn't have been our concern.  We came in from the blind side of the Jensen house and unloaded the wood as quietly as possible, then we took the meat and flour and shoes to the door.  We knocked.  The door opened a crack and a timid voice said, "Who is it?"  "Lucas Miles, Ma'am, and my son, Matt. Could we come in for a bit?"

Widow Jensen opened the door and let us in.  She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders.  The children were wrapped in another and were sitting in front of the fireplace by a very small fire that hardly gave off any heat at all. Widow Jensen fumbled with a match and finally lit the lamp.  "We brought you a few things, Ma'am," Pa said and set down the sack of flour.  I put the meat on the table.  Then Pa handed her the sack that had the shoes in it.

She opened it hesitantly and took the shoes out one pair at a time. There was a pair for her and one for each of the children---sturdy shoes, the best, shoes that would last.  I watched her carefully.  She bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling and then tears filled her eyes and started running down her cheeks. She looked up at Pa like she wanted to say something, but it wouldn't come out.

"We brought a load of wood too, Ma'am," Pa said.  He turned to me and said, "Matt, go bring in enough to last awhile.  Let's get that fire up to size and heat this place up."  I wasn't the same person when I as much as I hate to admit it, there were tears in my eyes too.

In my mind I kept seeing those three kids huddled around the fireplace and their mother standing there with tears running down her cheeks with so much gratitude in her heart that she couldn't speak.  My heart swelled within me and a joy that I'd never known before, filled my soul.  I had given at Christmas many times before, but never when it had made so much difference.  I could see we were literally saving the lives of these people.

I soon had the fire blazing and everyone's spirits soared.  The kids started giggling when Pa handed them each a piece of candy and Widow Jensen looked on with a smile that probably hadn't crossed her face for a long time.  She finally turned to us.  "God bless you," she said.  "I know the Lord has sent you.  The children and I have been praying that he would send one of his angels to spare us."

In spite of myself, the lump returned to my throat and the tears welled up in my eyes again.  I'd never thought of Pa in those exact terms before, but after Widow Jensen mentioned it I could see that it was probably true.  I was sure that a better man than Pa had never walked the earth.  I started remembering all the times he had gone out of his way for Ma and me, and many others.  The list seemed endless as I thought on it.

Pa insisted that everyone try on the shoes before we left.  I was amazed when they all fit and I wondered how he had known what sizes to get.  Then I guessed that if he was on an errand for the Lord that the Lord would make sure he got the right sizes.

Tears were running down Widow Jensen's face again when we stood up to leave. Pa took each of the kids in his big arms and gave them a hug.  They clung to him and didn't want us to go.  I could see that they missed their Pa, and I was glad that I still had mine.

At the door Pa turned to Widow Jensen and said, "The Mrs. wanted me to invite you and the children over for Christmas dinner tomorrow.  The turkey will be more than the three of us can eat, and a man can get cantankerous if he has to eat turkey for too many meals.  We'll be by to get you about eleven.  It'll be nice to have some little ones was the youngest.  My two brothers and two sisters had all married and had moved away.  Widow Jensen nodded and said, "Thank you, Brother Miles.  I don't have to say, "'May the Lord bless you,' I know for certain that He will."

Out on the sled I felt a warmth that came from deep within and I didn't even notice the cold.  When we had gone a ways, Pa turned to me and said, "Matt, I want you to know something.  Your ma and me have been tucking a little money away here and there all year so we could buy that rifle for you, but we didn't have quite enough.

Then yesterday a man who owed me a little money from years back came by to make things square.  Your ma and me were real excited, thinking that now we could get you that rifle, and I started into town this morning to do just that.  But on the way I saw little Jakey out scratching in the woodpile with his feet wrapped in those gunny sacks and I knew what I had to do.  Son, I spent the money for shoes and a little candy for those children.  I hope you understand."

I understood, and my eyes became wet with tears again.  I understood very well, and I was so glad Pa had done it.  Now the rifle seemed very low on my list of priorities.  Pa had given me a lot more.  He had given me the look on Widow Jensen's face and the radiant smiles of her three children.

For the rest of my life, Whenever I saw any of the Jensens, or split a block of wood, I remembered, and remembering brought back that same joy I felt riding home beside Pa that night.  Pa had given me much more than a rifle that night; he had given me the best Christmas of my life.

Christmas In Your Heart

2009-12-04T17:22:00.003-10:00

Every year when Christmas comes I think about the room with the Christmas tree when I was growing up. It had few pieces of furniture and smelled of peppermint on the tree. I had a fondness for candy canes but was not to eat even one until Christmas day. The year I received my first thick book I lay on the couch all day and late into the night eating candy canes and reading.

I've eaten some of the finest candy canes made in New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma and Arkansas yet not one of those compare to that candy on Christmas Day. To me, those canes were mysteriously delectable, the sweet romance of Christmas was in the flavor, and they held for me the mystery in the waiting and the anticipation of sheer excitement.

When you and I relive the wonder and mystery of Christmas, when we relive the happiness in childhood memory, and when we treasure the Gift of Jesus then we are allowing ourselves to be reborn. Our rebirth is found while loving the Holy Babe. Love has come to save us. So, we turn our lives over to Him and turn our backs on our ought-not's-- ought-not to have done, said, or wished for just disappear in the bright tenderness of His Presence found in Christmas.

Bonus Question

2009-11-01T06:40:00.004-10:00

A young person wrote: 'Today, on a test there was a bonus question on the last page asking "How many roads must a man walk down before you can call him a man?" I was considering writing "the answer is blowing in the wind" but then decided to write "You have already called him a man therefore he doesn't need to walk down any roads". I was the only one in class to get the bonus points.'

Good job! You and I feel good when we also 'get it,' when we don't rely solely on the routine answer, and when we grasp the neat and straightforward. Our spirituality, our faith in God, has been made neat and straightforward by the son of man, Jesus Christ. His answers to our most complex and searching questions about God are clear, concise, and complete.

So, if we would be tested, our test is if He is solidly our Lord and Savior, for we are tested often.
And here is your bonus question: How can we name a Love that awakens heart and mind, indwelling all we know or think or do or seek or find?

The Greatest Person Ever Born

2009-09-29T05:22:00.002-10:00

The greatest person ever born was birthed in humble circumstances to parents who loved Him as God's miraculous gift not only to them but to all of us. He was born to grow up in a life as common as yours and mine and yet for each moment of His life He lived out what it means to be holy good, thoroughly truthful, and genuinely loving. When He spoke it was God speaking and the light of God that was in His soul shone a beaconed path toward a new simple way to commune one-to-one with God, who formerly spoke through Prophets.
For those who watched John the Baptist baptize Him, God spoke and said that He was God's only Son. Later on He said that He was God's Son. From His first to His last breath He spoke as God's Son. His words, teachings, and life reflected that He was the greatest person ever born. There has not been a man or a woman born to equal or surpass His greatness. God gave this great man to us for one purpose and for one purpose only- so that we can know the redeeming greatness of God's love.
For, it is in His new way of loving and living Jesus Christ showed us that all things are possible with God, that within His realm believers are changed to be better than they have to be, and that right does win out in the end. Because He was the greatest person ever born the world has been forever changed. Each and every generation that lifts Him up in their families, their communities, and in their nations know the rich blessings of the greatest person ever born. Without a doubt, He was the greatest.
He is the greatest.

Delight In Jesus

2009-09-26T08:35:00.002-10:00

Where is the delight in your life? But hold on there! Before you analyze yourself, look with me at Jesus' life and see how He lives among us with delight. Delight is revealed in the Good News found in His parables, stories, promises, and words of assurance. Jesus truly delights in loving us and He goes out of His way to show us that He loves us.
Jesus delights in picking us up when we make mistakes. He delights in making us feel accepted and he welcomes us each and every time we talk with Him. Jesus delights when we we make choices that are good and wholesome, and even when we don't know what choice to make and have stalled-out He delights that we come to Him befuddled.
Jesus takes delight when we turn to Him when life socks us in the stomach with bad news because He can heal sore stomachs and he can work miracles in tough situations. His blanket of love is so big it reaches delightfully around the world. You and I and the others at Alpha Church have taken hold of His blanket of love and are sharing it- and this gives delight. So where is delight in your life and mine too? Delight is in Jesus' love.

... and they were continually in the temple blessing God. Luke 24:53

Faith To Use

2009-08-20T09:00:00.002-10:00

But when the disciples saw Jesus walking on the sea, they were terrified saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid." reading from Matthew 14:23-36

There is one picture that has been painted of Peter walking out to Jesus on the stormy salty sea- painted by Philipp Otto Runge. Some frightened and concerned disciples stare over the boat railing as Peter's leg hangs into the sea yet Jesus securely grasps Peter's arm. The Lord, with His glorious robe and holy power, is painted shielding Peter from life's torrent. This best picture images our life in faith.
Peter's faith looks faulty. At first we might think that Matthew hasn't a care for Peter's reputation by telling this story of how Peter's lack of faith sinks him into the sea. Yet Matthew is really telling us that it is better to have a friend who will act faith first and think afterward then to have a friend who thinks long and hard all to miss opportunity's timing.
The other disciples stay in the boat. Painter Runge invites all women and men who love the Lord to put ourselves in the boat with the other disciples, to join with their mixed emotions- struggling with the oars and wind pushing stronger than our combined efforts can combat, we find out that we are still without power to do many things.
Someone wrote: We have invented wonderful machines for making war but nobody yet has found one that will make peace. We can put a man on the moon but we can't put food into hungry stomachs. We can listen to the songs the whales sing on the ocean floor but we can't hear the crying of human souls in the next street.
May we not fear to step into these, and other, salty stormy seas of need as Christ says, "Come."

Pilot Does Not Eject

2009-08-05T10:55:00.003-10:00

A pastor was leading a beach mission with a group of children on the sands of Scarborough, North Yorkshire. A Royal Air Force Lightening Jet flew overhead then skimmed the surface of the sea before it turned and flew inland. A few minutes later it returned and went into a steep climb over Scarborough Castle. The beach group thought that the plane was doing a stunt.
Suddenly, in a matter of mere seconds, the plane flipped and dropped into the sea. It crashed less than two hundred yards away from the beach goers. The pilot was killed. The next day the newspaper headline read, "Pilot Gives Life to Save Crowds." The story reported how the plane began to fail and the pilot had just two choices- to eject himself and risk having the plane crash into the beach visitors or to steer the plane away into the sea.
In that instant the pilot choose to give his life to save the lives of others. His role model was our Savior. When the Son of God left heaven He came to intentionally give His life so that we might live in Him, receiving the fullness of His love that takes us into His presence. The selfless love that Jesus Christ has shown is our pattern for daily living because to us, believers in Him, living is Christ and dying is gain. Philippians 1:21

God engineers delays

2008-06-30T17:32:00.001-10:00

Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? Genesis 18:14

God sometimes strategically engineers delays. During the delay things may seem more and more improbable, unsolvable, and you may be tempted to take matters into your own hands. Rather, choose to wait on the Lord and put your full trust in the Lord--both are best.
Bring into your mind the experiences of Sarah and Abraham. God had promised them children. Both of them aged gracefully but they got old. Doubts tried to dispel confidence- doubts that lowered their faith. They were stuck in a delay until the right time, the time in which God had right.
God had to remind them that wonderful can happen because God’s promises are always kept, although there may be a delay. If a delay is occurring for you it may be that God is setting the stage for a special time in your life. Trust the Lord while you wait and expect God's wonderful.

How To Finish It

2008-05-26T06:43:00.001-10:00

Being confident of this very thing, that God which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6

There are times when it is challenging to finish what we start- perhaps the final exam is before you and you've tired of studying, or you have a group that you belong to and your energy to participate is waning, or you have that business task that you have been putting off. You just cannot get motived.
A large community of people felt just as you feel right now. God had brought the nation of Israel out of Egypt, delivered them from slavery and persecution, and God desired to bring them to freedom in the promised land. Many times through their journey the people felt like they didn't want to go on anymore, didn't want to finish, and they tired of the hardships and struggles. But even when their motivations sunk to the lowest God's didn't, and God finished through them what had begun.
God did this because God visualizes those He loves as a finished product. God cherishes you, understands, and doesn't give up halfway. He sees you as a finished product. With patient desire God wants you to allow Jesus to help you. Ask Jesus and you will receive His help- understanding and motivation to finish what you have started.

Captian

2008-05-26T06:42:00.001-10:00

Jesus said to His disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" Mark 4:40

Soon Jesus would ask His disciples the all important question, "Who do you say I am?" (8:29), and to help prepare them for this question He demonstrates His unlimited power over the natural world. Here, Jesus and His disciples push off from the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. They didn't know yet that they would need Him but He knew.
They encounter an unexpectedly heavy storm. This storm is extremely dangerous and the seafaring disciples understand this about their predicament. They are confident until the full effect of the storm hits and then the violent waves threaten to sink their boat and take their lives.
Yet Jesus is not merely a passenger, He is Captain. The disciples claim Him as Captain of their lives as He says, "Quiet! Be still!!" to the storm, and suddenly there is complete calm. The Captain was showing them then... and us now, that whatever happens, have faith in Him. Faith without fear. He is Captain of the living and the dead.

About Face

2008-05-26T06:41:00.000-10:00

"What shall I do, Lord?" I asked. (Saul) Acts 22:10

"About Face!" We hear that then we turn around and march in the opposite direction. Jesus may give any one of us an "about face,' At a time soon after Jesus blessed believers with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Saul was going the wrong direction in his life. He was persecuting and killing Christians because he honestly thought it was the right thing to do. The dramatic story surrounding our Scripture tells of an antagonist who about-faced into discipleship.
After the about face he loved Christians, loved them so much he was constantly interpreting the Good News of Christ into their lives and inspiring them with his sure faith. With Jesus' help he spoke to Christians about their diversity, bold living, and encouraged them to see themselves as the people of the Lord's way, not the world's defining way. From the moment the Lord entered his heart he then encountered his greatest problems, persecution, and pains.
Someone must have wondered how he felt about these because he said that he counted these his greatest blessings in consideration of all that the Lord had done for him, and us, giving His life on the cross for us. Jesus' suffering, death, Resurrection, and then the gift of His presence with us by the Holy Spirit have 'about faced' untold numbers of people. Jesus changed Saul's name to Paul, marking his changed life and new purpose. When the Lord speaks, "About Face," the remarkable happens.

Be The Fourth

2008-03-28T17:13:00.001-10:00

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for others ... Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth" 1 John 3:16,18

Someone has said that the reason for the crucifixion of the Son of God is that three out of every four people will hurt you if given an opportunity. Only one in four is genuinely kind and willing to help. So then, we have the privilege of being the fourth persons in each set, to act without fear of the closeness of loving compassion exemplified by Christ.
To move in close to one another calls for us to let down our shields that we pull up tight to cover our hearts like the Roman guards that confined Jesus. These shields may be memories of past hurts or anticipation that someone is going to wrong you. Raising your shield up may join you with the three in the set. Be the fourth. Lay them down.
The people who sentenced Jesus to die presumed Him guilty without proven innocence. They sought to hurt Him but missed Him by a mile. He was genuinely kind and was willing to help us know God's heart by laying down His life so that you know what love is, it is Jesus Christ.

Got Your Back

2008-02-28T09:40:00.001-10:00

The Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard. Isaiah 52:12

As Jesus was deep in prayer in Gethsemane He was counting on the disciples to 'watch and pray.' They were to guard His back but they fell asleep. Even though not one of the disciples was watching out for His safety He was watched over by God- God had His back.
As you draw near to God in prayer Jesus has your back. He understands. Go forward with God's goodness in confidence. You can depend on Him.

Humor (sent in by AlphaChurch.org member)

2008-02-19T07:54:00.001-10:00

J. Paul Getty - "The meek shall inherit the Earth, but not its mineral rights."

In Case of Accident or Anxiety

2008-02-19T07:42:00.004-10:00

Jesus said: As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. John 15:9

Paul Harvey told a story about a man named Carl who was driving to work one morning when he bumped fenders with another motorist. Both cars stopped, and the woman driving the other car got out to survey the damage. She was distraught. It was her fault, she admitted, and hers was a new car less than two days old from the showroom floor.

She was dreading facing her husband. Carl was sympathetic but felt he had to pursue the exchange of license and registration data. She reached into her glove compartment to retrieve the documents which were in an envelope. On the first paper, written in her husband's distinctive handwriting were these words: In case of accident remember, honey, it's you I love, not the car.

In the midst of anxiety we too can forget about love. You do your best to get the task before you accomplished as well as possible and you work hard while knowing that you're going to be so glad when it is complete. When something goes wrong along the way it can feel like everything is wrecked, yet only a portion of the whole needs your focused attention to mend it and make it right again. It is at a time like this that there in the glove compartment of John's gospel, chapter 15, waiting for you are words spoken from the heart of Jesus: kid, it's you I love, always.

Advent on the Horizon

2007-11-28T16:27:00.001-10:00

On Sunday, December 2nd, the first Sunday in Advent will meet up with us. String the lights on your house and turn them on, put up the Christmas tree, set the nativity scene in a prominent place, and invite friends over for Advent cheer. The 'cheer' of Advent is in the anticipation of the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.

The word 'Advent' is taken from the Latin word avenio which means the coming of Christ our Savior.

Sunday is the day to begin reading one chapter a day of the Gospel of Luke-- it has 24 chapters and I think that you'll find Luke the Physician's stories of Jesus nothing short of remarkable and awesome!

my picture

2006-09-26T18:16:00.000-10:00

Our First Job Today

2006-09-26T17:37:00.000-10:00

C.S. Lewis, in his book Joy in His Presence, writes: "The real problem of the Christian life comes where people do not usually look for it. It comes the very moment you wake up each morning. All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists simply in shoving them all back; in listening to that Other voice, taking that Other point of view, letting that Other larger, stronger, quieter Life come flowing in. And so on, all day."

Our first job in the morning, throughout the day and into the night is letting quieter Life flow into our thoughts. Christ is quiet Life. This sensitivity to Him, my friend, will allow a different view, His holy view, into all that approaches or confronts you.

Commit your way to the Lord, trust in Him, and He will act. Psalm 37:5