Reflecting God - Embrace Holy Living from Wordaction of The Global Church of the Nazarene Publishing House in Kansas City, Missouri, United States "Promises Fulfilled" by Lori Miller for Saturday, 18 February 2017 with Scripture: Hebrews 11:8-16

Reflecting God - Embrace Holy Living from Wordaction of The Global Church of the Nazarene Publishing House in Kansas City, Missouri, United States "Gratitude In Grief"  by Lori Miller for Sunday, 19 February 2017 with Scripture: Psalm 69:19-29
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"Gratitude In Grief" by Lori Miller
Psalm 69:19 (18) Come near to me, and redeem me;
ransom me because of my enemies.
20 (19) You know how I am insulted,
shamed and disgraced;
before you stand all my foes.
21 (20) Insults have broken my heart
to the point that I could die.
I hoped that someone would show compassion,
but nobody did;
and that there would be comforters,
but I found none.
22 (21) They put poison in my food;
in my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink.
23 (22) Let their dining table
before them become a snare;
when they are at peace,
let it become a trap;
24 (23) let their eyes be darkened,
so that they can’t see,
and let their bodies
always be stumbling.
25 (24) Pour out your fury on them,
let your fierce anger overtake them.
26 (25) Let the place where they live be desolate,
with no one to live in their tents,
27 (26) for persecuting someone you had already stricken,
for adding to the pain of those you wounded.
28 (27) Add guilt to their guilt,
don’t let them enter your righteousness.
29 (28) Erase them from the book of life,
let them not be written with the righteous.
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I am no superhero. More often than not I have grieved the hardships and challenges of my life on earth. Broken by disappointments and pain, I have seen discouragement and cynicism staring back at me from the mirror on my wall. However, as the sweet balm of time begins to soothe the ache of grief, I am reminded again that the light shines brightest in the dark.
Therefore, as believers we are thankful for adversity. Gratitude doesn’t mean that we don’t wish for a softer journey. It is simply an acknowledgement of the great potential to stretch and grow in the dark shadows in an effort to reach the light. Faith becomes so much more precious when it lives and triumphs in adversity. We would never so profoundly understand God’s strength had we not needed it to carry us through the steep hills and valleys of the challenges we have faced in this life.
The Christian life will vary from day to day as life experiences stretch our understanding and build our character. If we never faced a struggle or the need to overcome, we would never know the delight that victory in Christ brings.

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Hymn for Today: "Amazing Grace" by John Newman
1. Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound)
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
2. 'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!
3. Through many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come;
'Tis grace that brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
4. The Lord has promised good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures.
5. Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.
6. The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who called me here below,
Will be for ever mine.
7. Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound)
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
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Thought for Today: Psalm 16:11 You make me know the path of life;
in your presence is unbounded joy,
in your right hand eternal delight.
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Please Pray: That the Christian in the areas of Eurasia that are resistant to the Gospel will be strengthened in their faith and be filled with the fullness of the Ruach HaKodesh.
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Reflecting God - Embrace Holy Living from Wordaction of The Global Church of the Nazarene Publishing House in Kansas City, Missouri, United States "Promises Fulfilled"  by Lori Miller for Saturday, 18 February 2017 with Scripture: Hebrews 11:8-16
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"Promises Fulfilled" by Lori Miller
Hebrews 11:8 By trusting, Avraham obeyed, after being called to go out[Hebrews 11:8 Genesis 12:1] to a place which God would give him as a possession; indeed, he went out without knowing where he was going. 9 By trusting, he lived as a temporary resident in the Land of the promise, as if it were not his, staying in tents with Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov, who were to receive what was promised along with him. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with permanent foundations, of which the architect and builder is God.
11 By trusting, he received potency to father a child, even when he was past the age for it, as was Sarah herself; because he regarded the One who had made the promise as trustworthy. 12 Therefore this one man, who was virtually dead, fathered descendants
as numerous as the stars in the sky,
and as countless as the grains of the sand on the seashore.[Hebrews 11:12 Genesis 15:5–6; 22:17; 32:13(12); Exodus 32:13; Deuteronomy 1:10; 10:22]
13 All these people kept on trusting until they died, without receiving what had been promised. They had only seen it and welcomed it from a distance, while acknowledging that they were aliens and temporary residents on the earth.[Hebrews 11:13 1 Chronicles 29:15] 14 For people who speak this way make it clear that they are looking for a fatherland. 15 Now if they were to keep recalling the one they left, they would have an opportunity to return; 16 but as it is, they aspire to a better fatherland, a heavenly one. This is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
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As I rounded the corner, my ears stilled to the sound of a child’s voice from within the small bathroom to the left of the stairwell. It was muffled by the rush of water, but it was audible nonetheless. I hesitantly stopped and tightened my grip on the bannister to steady myself for what I thought would be a grieving child in pain. Just months after the death of his father, this was a common occurrence. I was unprepared, however, when I realized that the strangled sobs that I had come to expect had been replaced by the hauntingly melodic notes of a child in song.
In that moment as I breathed in the sweet sound from the other side of the bathroom door, I knew that the human capacity for burden-bearing is far greater than one would expect. In those few seconds, I understood with striking clarity that our lives on earth must be spent making music of what remains with the understanding and the belief that God's ultimate love and promises will be fulfilled in the life to come. Death does not strip from us the promises of a loving God; it simply connects us to them

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Hymn for Today: "When All Get To Heaven" by Eliza E. Hewitt
1. Sing the wondrous love of Jesus,
sing His mercy and His grace;
in the mansions bright and blessed,
He'll prepare for us a place.
Refrain:
When we all get to heaven,
what a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
we'll sing and shout the victory.
2. While we walk the pilgrim pathway,
clouds will overspread the sky;
but when traveling days are over,
not a shadow, not a sigh.
Refrain:
When we all get to heaven,
what a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
we'll sing and shout the victory.
3. Let us then be true and faithful,
trusting, serving every day;
just one glimpse of Him in glory
will the toils of life repay.
Refrain:
When we all get to heaven,
what a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
we'll sing and shout the victory.
4. Onward to the prize before us!
Soon His beauty we'll behold;
soon the pearly gates will open;
we shall tread the streets of gold.
Refrain:
When we all get to heaven,
what a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
we'll sing and shout the victory.
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Thought for Today: Colossians 1:3 Whenever we pray, we always give thanks for you to God, the Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.
5 Both spring from the confident hope that you will receive what is stored up for you in heaven. You heard of this earlier in the message about the truth. This Good News
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Please Pray: For the people in the areas of Eurasia that are resistant to the Gospel will have the opportunity to hear about God's Grace and Forgiveness.
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