A Voice of Thanksgiving - Patricia Jordan

That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving, And tell of all Your wondrous works. Psalm 26:7 ESV

Using a voice of thanksgiving is one of the best ways to witness for God.

During our children’s childhood, we attended churches where, on the fifth Sunday night, folks gave testimonies or asked for their favorite hymns to be sung. I enjoyed it and chatted with many people about how their testimonies uplifted me. 

One summer, I attended a friend’s church revival. People gave testimonies about how God answered their prayers. A woman in the choir told how God delivered her from heavy alcohol consumption. Since then, her life had become fuller and more enriched than ever before. She cried tears of joy over her new life in Christ. I didn’t see her as being too emotional, and neither did those around her. They hugged her or patted her on the back as the choir stepped down. 

In 1975, I lived in Atlanta, GA. I had lived an ungodly lifestyle for several years, moving from place to place and job to job and running from my bad decisions. I worked full-time, but still lost my car. I felt discouraged. But my sister Deena encouraged me to join the military.

On a Sunday morning in April, while sipping coffee, I thought about my life’s direction. While lost in thought, I saw myself sitting with my parents and four older siblings on a church pew during a revival night. I was nine that summer. As the choir sang their last song, the preacher looked in my direction and asked, “Are you washed in the soul-cleansing blood of Jesus?”

I wasn’t a Christian but wanted to be one. I went forward, confessed my faith in Jesus, and was baptized Sunday night. My decision on that revival night, along with reliving that memory, changed the direction of my life. I found a local church, joined it, and then investigated the military idea. I’ve lived a Christian life ever since. 

Sharing testimonies strengthens our faith and the faith of others. I love telling the story of how I returned to faith in God at twenty-three. 

With a voice of thanksgiving, tell others what God has done in your life. 

Patricia Jordan is a seventh-generation southerner from the Appalachian Mountains. She is thankful to return and live there after living in various parts of the world with her retired military husband. They have raised three daughters. She has published You Are Valuable (Westbow), which is her story of how she overcame chronic low-grade depression through Bible study, prayer, and talk therapy. Lately, she has turned her writing talents to writing devotions about walking with God.  

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Don't Be a Closet Dweller - Martin Wiles

In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. Matthew 5:16 NLT

She’d been in the closet for five years, but now she was coming out. No longer would she be a closet dweller. 

Collecting old picture frames with photos of unknown dead people was once one of my hobbies that my wife didn’t particularly appreciate. She does love the old frames with the ornate handiwork and will gladly replace the dead person with a modern piece of art. But I never wanted to change the picture.

One particular closet dweller hung on my office wall for three years, eyes following everyone who looked at her, regardless of where they stood. Then we moved, and my wife said, “No dead people hanging on our walls—except in your office.” But my dead girl with the roving eyes wasn’t even allowed there. I convinced my wife not to sell her. Instead, she stuck her in a closet.

One day, when I came home from work, I found my girl leaning against a bookshelf. My wife had cleaned out the closet in my study.

“Why is my dead girl’s picture out of the closet?” I asked.

“I have a place on the wall you can hang her.”

And she did. As I walked into my office each morning, I was greeted by her wandering eyes. I was glad she came out of the closet.

Jesus doesn’t like closet dwellers either. He wants our lights—our good deeds—to shine brightly before others. Putting a light under a cover or shielding it only dims the light or extinguishes it altogether.

The light we have as believers is our testimony of what Christ has done in our lives and how we act out the difference he makes daily. We don’t have to preach a sermon to tell others what he has done. Because of the snippet-world technology has created, we need to shorten our testimonies to the bare essentials to share them in a minute or two.

But what we say isn’t nearly as important as what others see. Words mean little without actions to back them. God gives us numerous opportunities to act out our faith in practical ways. And we’ll see them if we ask him to provide us with a gentle nudge when he sends them our way.

Don’t hide your faith or be a closet dweller. Come out of the closet.

Father, give me the courage to live my faith before others so they will be pointed to you.

I invite you to try my book A Whisper in the Woods: Quiet Escapes in a Noisy World. No one escapes life's hurts, but quiet places help us regain our perspective. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

God of Second Chances - Abigail Skelton

And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Matthew 28:20 NRSVUE

When I was in high school, I loved God and wanted everyone to know Him. Yet after a few weeks at a secular university, I became intimidated by the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20). I still loved God, but how could I “make disciples of all nations” when I found it hard just to share my faith with my peers? Over the next few years, I prayed for coworkers and attempted to bring some spiritual depth to my conversations—when I felt like it—but ultimately, I graduated feeling like I hadn’t made the most of every opportunity. Fortunately, God is a God of second chances. 

A few years later, I found myself back in the same college town, alongside a group of young adults who visited the campus and held fun events for the students. This group of young adults invited the students to dinners or coffees and listened to the students’ spiritual journeys, which were often nonexistent. Yet, much to my surprise, I learned that most students liked discussing their beliefs. From these chats, over ten chose to turn their lives over to Jesus. I was floored.

In retrospect, I wish I’d put more effort into sharing my faith when I was a student. I could’ve easily asked other students questions about their moral upbringings. And even if I’d been mocked for my beliefs, this life is short-term in the grand scheme of eternity. Being teased by someone is nothing compared to the real persecution that Christians suffer around the world.

Students across the country are surprisingly open-minded, ready to discover themselves and live their own lives. And frankly, a lot of students are severely lonely. Knowing Jesus is the absolute best antidote. 

Perhaps you have any college kids in your life. Or you may live in a university town and are looking for ways to encourage students during this busy back-to-school season. You might be surprised to find that college ministries love older staff on the teams as well. And ultimately, no matter where you go or what you do, God goes before you and is with you always. 

Never forget God is a God of second chances.

Father, thank you for giving me more than second chances. 

Abigail Skelton is from beautiful Southern Oregon, where she grew up with an avid love for Jesus, chocolate, and writing. She has lived in three countries while involved in missionary work and frequently travels and studies foreign languages. You can connect with Abigail on her website: https://abigailskelton.com.

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Hating the Holy - Martin Wiles

Don’t give pearls to swine! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you. Matthew 7:6 NLT

As far as he knew, he was the only Christian in his office.

John was fresh out of college and had just taken a promising job in his hometown. Not ashamed that he was a believer, he quickly decorated his small cubicle with Christian décor. Imagine his surprise when his boss approached him and told him to remove it. The excitement over his new opportunity soon digressed as the antagonism against him progressed. The actions and words of his co-workers demonstrated they hated the holy. He stayed, though, and continued to cast pearls before them.

I’ve owned a few hogs in my lifetime. They are avid eaters and cared for nothing except food and slop to eat, dirt to root in, and a mud hole to wallow in. Had I thrown anything of value in the pen along with their food, they would have trampled it. Trying to give them what they didn’t care about would have wasted my time.

Jesus wasn’t giving a command to pig farmers. Nor was he teaching we shouldn’t share with those who are unreceptive. Instead, he warned about what to expect when we toss the gospel to those who aren’t interested . . . to those content with their evil ways.

Selfishness and contentment with filth are in a hog’s nature. But there is good in the hog when the dirt is washed away—everything, in fact, some say, except the squeal.

Changing a hog’s nature is almost impossible. Changing ours is impossible, too. Like the hog, we’re quite content to wallow in the filth of sin and disobedience. I, too, have cast pearls before some people who had no interest.

God, however, can give anyone a new nature—a nature that loves pearls and all things holy . . . a heart that drives us toward obedience to God’s commands rather than mud.

Wisdom is necessary to know where to cast our pearls. While everyone needs to hear about God’s love, allowing God to guide us helps us throw them where they will reap the most results.

If God has changed your hate for the holy, how can you cast that same pearl before others?

Father, give us wisdom to cast the pearl of the gospel where it will garner the most fruit. 

Tweetable: Do you love the holy? 

Don't forget to add your comments below. 

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Seeds That Grow - Karen Huffaker

This seed grew and produced a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted! Luke 8:8 NLT

The year I tried my hand at vegetable gardening proved a learning experience and a step out of character for this city girl. But I was after seeds that grow.

The soil was primarily hard red clay and challenged me. In fact, my neighbor broke his garden tiller on the rocky ground as he plowed up a small garden spot for me.

Despite the early challenges, I rolled up my sleeves and continued with my new project, planting various vegetables. The tomatoes and peppers didn’t make it. The okra grew, but yielded only a small crop. The two small watermelons were a fun surprise–I didn’t even realize I planted those.

But the crop that grew abundantly was cucumbers. Apparently, cucumbers are hearty plants. The dirt was fertile for them, with just the right balance of nutrients. It seemed we were well on our way to producing a hundred times as much as I planted, both in quantity and size. Unfortunately, I don’t like them, but I did enjoy sharing my little harvest with the neighbors.

As we treasure and keep scriptures in our hearts, they are nourished to grow and produce a harvest of love, faith, and belief in Jesus to share with others. At times, the witness of our faith will fall on rocky soil or wither and die if hearts are hard and ears are closed. But at other times, the seeds of God’s Word take root and grow in fertile soil, and others will accept Jesus as their Savior and Lord.

Whether planting seeds of love, truth, hope, or faith, we can sow the seeds and look to God to produce a bountiful harvest.

What kinds of seeds are you planting?

Tweetable: Are you planting seeds that grow? 

Karen Huffaker is a freelance Christian writer. She has taught children’s Sunday school and single mom’s Bible studies and written poetry. She is from the Deep South and loves reading Christian books, devotionals, genealogy adventures, fishing, and all things family. She is also passionate about her grandchildren’s sporting events. 

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Meandering Monday - Keeper of the Memories - Martin Wiles

Welcome to Meandering Monday, where we take a trip back to an earlier post and enjoy it again.

You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. Deuteronomy 6:7 NKJV

I was the keeper of the memories.

I’ve never had to keep the family memories before. Sure, I knew them—and even helped with a family genealogical book—but most of my relatives were strangers to me. My immediate family was the only ones I had built memories with. Those memories I didn’t have to worry about forgetting because I had patriarchs and matriarchs to help me recall.

Then, it happened. One by one, family members began dying. Now only my mother remains. When she’s gone, I’m next in line. Since her memory is fading, I try to ask her everything I might want to know about the family. Hopefully, someone in the family will keep the memories alive when I’m gone as well.

Early in his history with the Israelites, God instructed them to keep the memories alive. Not family memories necessarily, but commandment memories. The only way their children and grandchildren would know God’s commands was if the parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents talked about them continuously. Regardless of where they were, they should let God’s mandates be on their lips.

The only way to move items from short into the long-term memory bank is through memorization and continual use. I memorized multiplication tables as a middle schooler and have used them all my life. I don’t have to think about what eight times six is. I’ve calculated it so many times the answer comes naturally.

So do God’s commands. I’ve known them since I was able to comprehend them. My parents engrafted them into my mind through various teaching methods. I did the same with my children. Hopefully, they will do the same with theirs.

We can force salvation and godliness on family members, but we can offer them by making them a regular part of our speech and living out the memories through everyday activities.

Are you keeping spiritual memories alive for your family?

Prayer: Father, may we keep the memories of Your commandments alive in our family’s lives. 

Tweetable: Are you keeping God's commands alive? 

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Carbon Copy - Martin Wiles

Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did. 1 John 2:6 NLT

Now, I can enter the number of copies and click print, but then there was a carbon copy. 

During the summers when I helped my grandfather on the ice cream truck, I watched him stuff a ticket book in his back pocket. When he entered the Mom-n-Pop stores or grocery stores—and after he had straightened up the ice cream—he whipped the book from his pocket and recorded what the customer needed . . . but not before he made sure the carbon paper was correct. 

Carbon copies were the original copier machine. The size of the carbon paper matched the paper on which it hid between. When placed properly, and when pressed on hard enough, whatever the writer wrote on the first sheet was copied on the second sheet. My grandfather gave the top copy to the customer as a bill and as a record of what they had purchased, and he kept the second copy for company records. 

When I read the verse John wrote to first-century Christians—and current-day believers—I thought about the old carbon copies and how they relate to my spiritual journey. God wants present-day believers to be carbon copies of Jesus, just as He did those in the first century and before. But it doesn’t happen automatically. 

God provides the necessary materials. When we trust Christ as our Savior and ask forgiveness for our sins, He gives us His Holy Spirit as a permanent resident in our life. He also provides us the privilege of approaching His throne in prayer whenever and as often as we want. Still, more is needed. 

Carbon copies required pressure. Unless I pressed hard on the first sheet, what I wrote would not come through on the second. God brings and allows pressure in our lives in the form of trials and temptations. If we react correctly, these pressures draw us closer to God, which is His intended purpose. When we move closer, we act more like Jesus. 

Making a good carbon copy required aligning the carbon paper with the paper it was between. Otherwise, a part of what I wrote might not correctly translate. Our positions are prayer, worship, humility, selflessness, and desire. When these are present, we’ll align properly with Jesus’ example. 

Carbon copies also required replacing. After so much use, the carbon copy wouldn’t do its job anymore—or either the copy would be so light as to be illegible. While we only must ask for salvation once, we do have to keep going back to God through prayer, Bible study, and worship if we’re going to represent Jesus well in our words, actions, and attitudes. 

Don’t let your carbon wear out. Keep it fresh so you can be a good copy of Jesus in a world that needs to experience Him. 

Prayer: Father, make us carbon copies that accurately reflect You. 

Tweetable: Are you a carbon copy of Jesus? 

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Fishing for God - Martin Wiles

Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” Matthew 4:19 NLT

As I looked at their setup, I marveled.

One of our stops when my wife and I last visited Georgia was the Pavilion and pier on Tybee Island. After walking through the Pavilion, we made our way along a pier that extended into the ocean.

As we exited our vehicle to begin our journey, a couple beside us got out of their truck. But not with just themselves as we did. They had a cart on which they loaded all manner of fishing equipment. Walking along the pier, I saw many others like them, and when we got to the end of their pier their numbers increased.

Fishermen and fisherwomen of all ages and appearances—but with one thing in common. They all had the proper gear to fish for what a person catches in the ocean. The carts helped them easily get their gear to their destination. Their fishing rods weren’t the ordinary variety I’ve used to fish in lakes and ponds. Their circumference was greater, and their length longer. Huge ice chests sat around, filled with drinks, food, and live bait—some bait almost as big as the fish I once kept to eat. But these folks weren’t fishing for just ordinary fish. They sought the large fish found in the ocean. Some even caught small sharks.

When Jesus called His disciples, He promised to make them fishers of people. And for a reason.

Fishing for people requires preparation and a mindset. We must believe we need to fish for people. The reason they need to be caught is that they are swimming the wrong way. All of us are born with a sinful nature that separates us from God. Unless we accept the forgiveness for our sins that Jesus purchased on the cross, our eternal destiny will be a place we won’t enjoy, and our present life before getting there will be less than God intends.

Fishing also takes effort and trust. The folks on the pier went to great lengths to take their gear to the pier and to prepare for their fishing adventure. They also trusted that they had the correct bait. If the right fish came along and saw it, they would bite.

Although God goes before our people-fishing adventures through the presence of His Spirit, we must go—in whatever ways God directs—trusting that he will put those in our path whom he wants us to influence, talk with, hang out with, or become friends with. God wants us to fish, and He’ll provide everything we need to do the job right.

Why not get your things together and go fishing in God’s name?

Prayer: Father, send us on the fishing adventures so we can catch those You want us to catch. 

Tweetable: How's your fishing? 

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Spreading the Good News - Thomas Brown

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you
will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. Isaiah 43:2 NIV

One day, as I sat at my piano, I found myself frustrated with the sound of my music 

I had not practiced for weeks, and I found myself having to review the basics again. I was troubled and thought about how this relates to my Christian walk with Christ. As I sat there and reflected, I realized if we stop doing things it just becomes a habit. Even our good habits can become bad habits just by stopping the good habit. 

The same happens if we stop reading our Bible. Starting again will be harder than it was to stop. Especially since the devil does not want us to read Scripture. 

In Bible times, some kings were strong believers in the one true God, but some were not. Although there were many martyrs, some are better known. But all were killed for believing in Christ. Some were stoned to death and others were killed by other means, but they all died because they believed and publicly preached the gospel—something the Bible tells us to do. 

We should imitate those who died for their faith. We need to keep telling others about God’s love. This is part of God’s command to us.  

Think of at least two people you can tell about God’s love. Little things can make big things happen.

Prayer: Father, give us the strength to spread the good news of Your love and to invite others to come to You.

Tweetable: Are you spreading the good news? 

Thomas Brown is a middle schooler at Greenwood Christian School in Greenwood, South Carolina. He has one brother and a dog named Lucy. He has lived in nearby Abbeville all his life and hopes one day to visit Alaska.

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From Blues to Good News - Sara Lewis

The message that God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. Acts 10:36 NIV

The older gentleman observed, “Nothing in the news but the blues.”

Years ago, as I traveled in the Bahamas, I met an older gentleman listening to a depressing newscast on ZNS (the Nassau radio station). Hearing the above statement, I smiled at the poetry of it, but the statement has also become a slogan of today’s reality. There isn’t much about news that is good.

As Christians, we use the term “good news” differently than our culture. Our good news—the gospel—is that God in His great mercy chose not to doom us to our own bad choices. Instead, He rescued us by sending His spotless Son to make the ultimate advance payment so that we could live with Him forever.

As correspondents of the Kingdom, we are instructed to share this good news of Jesus with the hopeless, helpless, and defeated. Our personal media resource material (the Bible) records beautiful feature stories to show how God’s plan works: the headline accounts of Moses, Joseph, Daniel, Esther, Ruth, the woman at the well, the good Samaritan, and the Great Reporter, Jesus Himself.

Seeing glimmers of the good news creeping into today’s media reports is heartwarming. Stories of compassion by policemen taking the knee in prayer with peaceful protestors, a man offering his townhome as shelter to people caught in street rioting, hospital workers serving selfishly through exhaustion and deprivation—kindness and light in the face of darkness. These are the good news stories God wants us to show and tell.

As participants in God’s Kingdom, we can demonstrate random acts of kindness amid chaos. We can also inspire others to go out and do more of the same. After all, who doesn’t want to see pretty feet heading their way with a joyful report?

Think of someone in your sphere of influence who needs to hear some good news rather than the blues.

Tweetable: Are you sharing more good news than blues news? 
 

Sara Lewis has responded to God’s calling to pray and to write in several ways. She has written two books: Walking on the Waterways: Parables from Sailing and Called to Pray: An Intercessor’s Toolkit. She has been active in forming two email groups of intercessors, The CORD (Chain of Redeemed Daughters) and the WatchWomen on the Wall. After retiring as a community college English instructor, she and her husband, Monty, began living their dream of winter cruising in the Bahamas, eventually publishing the Explorer Chartbook series of navigational charts and cruising guides. They spend the rest of their time at their home in Ocean City, Maryland.

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Who’s Telling Whom? - Martin Wiles

Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Deuteronomy 6:7 NLT

Somehow, I wondered if they knew any family stories.

I remembered the stories my granddaddy told me and had committed many of them to memory. Now that I’m older and the memories are fading, I decided I should write some of them down.

My granddaddy’s childhood intrigued me. Almost like stepping back into time. A story somewhat like the Ingles’ on Little House on the Prairie. Except he was in a field, in a small wooden shack with a tin roof, and in a bedroom where a number of siblings also slept.

Most of his stories related to what happened after his dad died when my granddaddy was a twelve-year-old boy. Tending the farm fell to him, along with an uncle who happened to be married to a woman from my momma’s side of the family. I loved to hear about Uncle Ransom and his mule episodes. 

When my granddaddy left the farm, he began working at the local ice company. From there, he started delivering milk and later ice cream, which he did until he retired. Since I spent so much time with these grandparents, I have many stories committed to memory. But I wondered if my students did.

Most of my students still had grandparents living—some even a great-grandparent. Thinking they might not know some of the family stories, I made the assignment: a one and a half page paper telling a family story that happened before their momma birthed them. Sure, I graded for grammatical accuracy, but I was more concerned that they knew the family story.

God was also concerned that His people knew the family story. The story of how He had delivered them from Egyptian slavery, called them as His special people, gave them the Ten Commandments, and gave them the Law. But knowing wasn’t enough. They needed to tell it. Just as God’s children today need to.

My granddaddy’s life told another story his mouth didn’t. By his lifestyle, I knew his parents had taught him to live by God’s standards. He, in turn, taught those standards to his two children and their children—me being one of them. His example impacted me as much as my parents’ did. 

So, tell the story in your family. After all, if you don’t, no one else might. And when the family story isn’t told, future generations forget just how great our God is.

Prayer: Father, give us the courage and the opportunities to pass along our family stories.

Tweetable: Are you telling the family story? 

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