From Hard Rock to Worship

 “And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep.” Gen 28:11b “Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it." Gen 28:16

Jacob was on a journey out of obedience to his father when one night, as the sun had set, he tried to find rest on a pile of rocks. Can you imagine the difficulty?

Yet, have YOU ever come to a time when the "light" of God's path seemed to have disappeared, “darkness” came, and since you couldn't continue forward, you tried to find rest but it was far from comfortable? Jacob did not see that it was in that formidable place that the LORD was with him, just as He had been his entire journey. Darkness and light are the same to God (Ps. 139:12), though it can seem very different to us. But our God will be faithful to reveal Himself to us and we will say, "Surely, the LORD is in this place!" though we did not know it.

Once Jacob woke up to that realization, those stones were immediately converted into an altar of praise and worship. Verse 18 says "And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it." When we are unaware of the Lord being with us, the hard things we try and rest upon can be very difficult...even painful. But when we find that Jesus is our Rock (Dt. 32), He has become our "rest" (Heb. 4), and this Rock was "anointed with the oil of gladness (Ps. 45:7), then we discover that there is no stone of difficulty that cannot be turned into an altar of praise and worship. Gen 28:15 "Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go.”

Little Miracles...

I’d like to share a personal prayer request for a dear Christian family that could use some extra prayer support. I met Mike and Trudy Carmody about 18 years ago and we became very close friends. They had a gorgeous, healthy baby boy named Michael that brought lots of joy wherever he went. The Carmody’s ended up moving to Ohio and I moved to New York not long afterward, so we lost contact. Recently reconnecting, I’ve heard the story of their little miracle daughter Gabrielle and the long, health journey the Lord has had them on. I’d like to put a brief synopsis from their Caring Bridge website here so that you could pray along with me. If you actually log in and read the journal, you’ll see a perfect demonstration of God’s grace, strength, faithfulness and love through some of the most difficult trials in life. Here’s a brief intro...

Gabrielle is our miracle child.  She has overcome numerous challenges in her thirteen years of life. She has been diagnosed with Severe Idiomatic Infantile Scoliosis. Her spinal curvature is 150 degrees.  She has a lateral "C" curve that rotates to her left side.  The size of the curve has caused a severe distortion of her chest cavity.  This distortion has had an impact on the development of Gabrielle's lungs and has altered the path of her esophagus.  As a result, Gabrielle has had trouble gaining and maintaining a healthy weight. At one point not long ago, she was down to 32 pounds.

 Gabrielle was in traction for a little over 2 months. For the 14 hour surgery that occurred on April 13th, they removed 2 ribs on the left and 3 ribs on the right.  They then started the vertebral resection (removing the vertebrae).  Throughout the surgery they had monitored Gabrielle's spinal function.  All was going well until they had removed 1/3 of the first vertebrae.  2 of the monitoring points dropped and a third (motor skills) stayed high.  At that point the decision was made to stop progressing.  They installed 2 rods to reinforce her back and closed her up. 

She has been slowly progressing in a special facility just for this disease in Texas, but Mike had to return to work in Cleveland, Ohio, leaving Gabrielle and her mother Trudy in Dallas. 

You can imagine the heart ache...but in every journal entry, the grace of God is more than evident. They love the Lord with all their hearts and because they want to bring Him glory through all of this, would you please join me in prayer for this amazing family? If you’d like to see more, read more, be in awe of the photo’s...then log on to Caring Bridge’s website yourself at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/gabriellecarmody

Too Busy To Eat

Mk.6:31 And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.

In Mark 6 it is amazing to read about the things the disciples were enabled to do by the Lord for a short-term missions trip. Can you imagine their excitement as they shared with others the good news of Jesus Christ, and then healed the sick or cast out demons? Then, like little children replaying the day's events to a parent, they shared all that they did and said to Jesus when they returned. The fields were ripe for harvest and there was an abundance of ministry opportunities. 

But then we see that Jesus suddenly shifted the disciples focus. They had their time to serve, but now was the time they needed fellowship with Him alone and to "eat" for themselves. They had been so busy feeding "spiritual" food to impoverished people that they were tired and hungry themselves. 


We might think that the “need outweighed the cost,” but Jesus did not sacrifice His disciples for their service. Rather, His love for them knew the greater need of the moment. They would have time in the future to minister and serve again, but for now, the Shepherd was causing His sheep to lie down in green pastures (Ps 23). 


Let’s always remember that times of rest or solitude called for by the Lord are no less important than “much service.” His love will always look out for what is best for His child, since the poor and needy will always be among us (Matt. 26:11). 

"Be Anxious For Nothing"

Choking on Size 7's

Peter wasn't the only one who knew what a foot tasted like. I left a meeting recently with my size 7's hanging from my mouth. A friend of mine calls it her "gate problem." When the mouth swings wide open without your permission.

"I need a better latch. Wait. Make mine a padlock" I responded. Half of my drive home I asked the Lord's forgiveness while trying to send a back-peddling text message of apology to my friend.

In Mark 1:41-45, Jesus cleansed a leper that sought to be healed. (NAS)

And He (Jesus) sternly warned him... “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest...as a testimony to them.” But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news around, to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas.

Have you ever identified yourself with this leper? I have. Newly cleansed from a horrible disease that has kept him separated from family and friends and he's supposed to "say nothing to anyone?" I can almost feel the floods of emotion that overcame him and drowned out the Lord's command. But by not keeping his mouth closed like Jesus asked....even though it may not have made sense to him...look what the consequences were:

• He missed an opportunity to be used as a testimony to the religious leaders that Jesus was the Messiah. His actions would have spoken volumes more than his words. 
• The thankful testimony of the leper reached many ears and stirred curious minds, but the hearts of those in the city were unreached by the Lord (at that time). 

Sometimes, I need the Lord's boldness and the Spirit's power to give me the right words to speak to others about the gospel and truth. But always, I need to be obedient when the Lord has told me to be quiet. His ways are above our ways and oftentimes, past finding out (Isaiah 55:8).

I really need to get my hands on that poster that says "Preach the Word always. When necessary, use words." In the meantime, I hope I'm done flossing with shoe laces.