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This was so good, I just had to share :). After reading it, I actually ordered Pilgrim’s Progress to read :). It’s written by George Whitten of Worthy Devotions:

Psalms 107:2-6 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy; And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south. They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.

“In his book, Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan has written one of the most beautiful allegories about the journey we all travel as believers. The book describes the hero, Christian, and his journey from the City of Destruction to his heavenly destination, the Celestial City. Now there’s one part of Pilgrim’s Progress that I want to focus on today — walking through the Swamp of Despondency!

At one point during their travels, Christian and his companion suddenly find themselves there….in the Swamp of Despondency. Still bearing his burden, Christian, begins to sink in the mire. His traveling companion manages to get out, but he returns to the City of Destruction without giving aid to Christian. Christian is left all alone and sinking even deeper in the mire, until Help, the allegorical figure for the Holy Spirit, pulls him free from the swamp.

Christian then asks Help why this dangerous plot of land has not been mended so that poor travelers might go safely to the Celestial City. Help replies, “This miry slough is such a place that cannot be mended.”

How true it is in real life! As hard as we try to avoid them, whether young in the Lord, or spiritually mature…swamps of despondency seem inevitable, and we must struggle through them!

Charles Spurgeon once wrote to his students in the book, “Lectures to my Students”, “Fits of depression come over most of us. Usually cheerful as we may be, we must at intervals be cast down. The strong are not always vigorous, the wise not always ready, the brave not always courageous, and the joyous not always happy. There may be here and there men of iron…but surely the rust frets even these.”

My Friends, there are times in our lives when we will struggle through the swamps of despondency — but praise God that He has provided us a helper for those times of need! We need to press through, seeking and trusting the power of the Holy Spirit to pull us out of those nasty swamps, and set our feet back upon the Rock of our salvation. Let’s also look around to see our brethren who may be struggling in the swamps of despondency, so that, rather than abandoning them, we might give them a hand on their journey to the celestial city!”

Your family in the Lord with much agape love,

George, Baht Rivka, Elianna & Obadiah
Jackson, Mississippi

One day a woman’s heater broke; it was very cold outside.  She asked Jesus to fix the heater, but instead Jesus kept her family warm. Coincidence or God-incidence?

Sometimes our Lord answers our prayers “as is”.  Sometimes He answers our underlying prayer.  He knew the real fear that the woman had was that her family would be cold-so God in His great mercy, kept them warm!

Sometimes our Lord answers our prayers with exactly what we ask for and sometimes He answers our prayers beyond that and provides for our needs ?

Miracles happen every day, but it takes faith to see them 🙂

It’s so important to read the Bible ourselves, especially now when even some Pastors and Christian leaders have an un-Biblical world view.

We don’t get to pick the parts of the Bible that we like, and ignore the rest. We need to read it, know it and understand it. And Live it…

In addition, Jesus warned us, “Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.” -Matthew 24:11

If we read the Bible for ourselves, with the Holy Spirit, we will know the truth of what God is teaching us 🙂

Fortunately for us, The Holy Spirit is always ready to Help 🙂

There was a young man once who walked by a Preacher preaching on a street corner. Watching him almost shouting His Gospel message on the street corner the young man finally asked him, “Why are you preaching here, don’t you see that no one is listening?” And the Preacher answered, “I may not save their souls, but I have saved my own 🙂 “

So often we hesitate to share the Good News of the Gospel or what God requires because we are afraid those we share it with will become angry or simply walk away.

Don’t be afraid to share our Good News, perhaps you will not “save” their soul, but you will save your own 🙂

A friend sent me this; it was so good I just had to share “Where IS Your Bethlehem?God’s Word shares with you, “Joseph went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem….He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.” As the crow flies, it was a journey of approximately 62 miles but traveling over hills, through villages and around rivers would likely have made the trip even longer. Christmas pictures seem to show Mary riding a donkey but we have no idea of their mode of travel. In any case, whether on foot or on the back of a swaying brown animal, it wasn’t an easy journey, especially for a woman nearing the end of her pregnancy.

Why did she go? True, government officials decreed a census and that everyone must go to their “own city”, the place their families called home, for this official registration and counting. Perhaps Mary was also quite ready to leave the village of Nazareth where tongues were wagging about her pregnancy and unmarried status.But Mary and Joseph knew they were going far from family and into a city whose streets would be clogged with traveling strangers. They were assured of no warm welcome, no cozy place to birth the expected child. Perhaps they hoped for a small house or a distant relative or a way for Joseph to earn money for their keep, but in almost every way, they were traveling into the unknown. The journey was long and hard, the destination uncertain.

Nearly nine months before their arrival in Bethlehem, Mary spoke life-changing words to God, words that were to comfort her in the many uncertain years ahead, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.” With those simple words of faith, she could endure the long journey on the back of an animal, the cold streets of Bethlehem, the staring faces of strangers, and even the crude stable with its straw-lined manger.

Where is your Bethlehem? Has the path been long, the people uncaring, the circumstances burdensome? When you submit yourself as servant to a Loving Father, you can – in quietness and confidence – add “May it be to me as You have said” no matter the place or position in which you find yourself. In Jesus’ Name. Thy Will be done. Amen. Peace.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:6-7

We look at others and often think that they are fearless.  They seem so brave! But the truth is, they are often afraid – of everything.  They just do things anyway. Fortunately our Lord has always been kind enough to share His peace with His people ?.

Courage is not the absence of fear, it’s the facing of it. But if we ask God, not only will He give us courage; He will give us Peace.

And with the Judgement that our country, indeed the world, is about to face, we will need every ounce of courage we have, and then some.  And even that won’t be enough.

We are going to need God’s Peace.  The peace that only He can give.  The peace that “transcends all understanding”.  The peace that comes through keeping our minds and our hearts focused on Jesus Christ.

So this Christmas, let’s tell Jesus how very much we need Him.  Let’s focus only on Him.  And whatever occurs in the next few years, we will not only survive, we will be at Peace ?