Several weeks ago, a friend of mine sent me this video, and I was very touched by it. A 37 year old mother of two young children, Rachel Barkey, speaks about her faith as she is in the last few weeks of fighting breast cancer. As she speaks, she knows she only has weeks to live, but she is determined that cancer will not define her. Only her relationship with Jesus.

            Her faith and courage as she faced death is incredibly inspiring! It is a long video, almost an hour, but I promise it is worth your time. So make time to watch it, and don’t forget your Kleenex. We can all learn from her faith in the midst of suffering. She passed away July 2, 2009, but is still speaking and inspiring thousands through this video. Let her speak to you and inspire you today, then pass it on. This kind of faith and hope deserves attention. 

Click on “Death is Not Dying” to watch:

Death is Not Dying

            I recently finished a Bible study titled Fresh Encounter by Henry and Richard Blackaby. It is a very informative and inspiring study about revival and spiritual awakening. It takes a detailed look at the phases of revival from a historical and a Biblical perspective.

            In Unit 6 of the study, a young man named Evan Roberts prayed earnestly for eleven years that God would send revival to his native land of Wales. When he was 26, he was inspired by a sermon and a prayer by an evangelist named Seth Joshua. Joshua prayed, “Bend us, O Lord.” Roberts believed that this was what God wanted for him personally, and he prayed, “Bend me, Lord.” Then when he returned home to his church, his motto became, “Bend the Church and save the world.”

            As I read this, I wasn’t really sure what he meant by this prayer, or that it was one I personally wanted to pray. My first thought was, “Bend me, but don’t break me.” I got the impression that “bend me” meant humble me, change me, and conform me to God’s image. And I do believe it means all this. But as I continued thinking about it, I heard a song on the radio that gave me a whole new perspective on this prayer. The song is titled, “How He loves” by the David Crowder Band, and the lyrics say this:

“He is jealous for me

Loves like a hurricane

I am a tree

Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy.”

            All of a sudden instead of seeing the “bending” as God humbling me and conforming me, I saw it as being bent underneath the weight of His great mercy and love for me. His mercy and love for us are so great that if we fully experienced it, we couldn’t even stand up underneath it. The song continues,

“And I realize just how beautiful You are

And how great Your affections are for me…Oh how He loves us!”

“If His grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking…Oh how He loves us!”

 I pray that each one of us would understand how great His affections are for us.  

For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. (Psalm 57:10, NLT)

 The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning (Lamentations 3:22-23, NLT)

Bend us, O Lord…beneath the weight of your love and mercy. Give us eyes to see and hearts to fully comprehend how much You love us. Oh how you love us. Thank you, Amen.

            Have you ever noticed the medical symbol found on ambulances, in hospitals, or on medical organizations? The symbol is referred to as a caduceus, and it consists of a staff or rod with a snake curled around it. Do you have any idea why this is the symbol for medical healing?

            If you research this symbol, sources will tell you that it comes from Greek mythology and is known as the staff of Asclepius, the Greek god of healing. Others identify it as the Caduceus of the Greek god Hermes, messenger of the gods, and inventor of magical incantations.

         I found this very interesting because I always thought it originated from the Bible. In Numbers 21, God’s people, the Israelites, rebelled against God and against Moses.  As a result, “the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.” (verse 6) The Israelites then came to Moses and confessed their sin, asking him to pray that the Lord would take the snakes away.

         Moses prayed for the people, and ^“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.’  So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.” (Numbers 21:8-9)

        This seems like a very strange way for God to choose to heal His people. Couldn’t He have just taken the snakes away and said, “Be healed”? Of course He could have. But maybe He had something (or Someone) else in mind when He gave these instructions to Moses.

        John 3:14-15 says,  “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,  that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.^” As the snake lifted up on the pole brought physical healing, Jesus lifted up on the cross brings spiritual healing. Those that believe in Him have been rescued from death and have been given life…eternal life. Verse 16 goes on to say, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” I know that’s a familiar verse, but do you really believe it? “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (I John 5:11-12) “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:17) 

            The next time you see a caduceus, remember the Son of Man that was lifted up for you. Thank Him for the Spiritual healing that He offers and the promise of eternal life with Him.

            As I was going through my children’s “Friday folders” this past weekend, I came across something that really blessed me.

            Having four children, I have to be very selective about what I decide to keep from school and what I throw away. Otherwise, all their papers would literally take over our house. (I know I can’t be the only mom that hides papers in the trash can, and then has to come up with some kind of explanation when they are discovered there.)

            So as I was going through my eight year old daughter’s papers, I read a handout from her teacher saying that the students were bringing home their “Poetry Writing Units.” Stapled to the back of this handout were thirty pages of poems that my daughter had written. I glanced at the first few which were titled, “Hot,” “Spring,” and “Pig.” Then I laid it down in my trash pile. As soon as I did though, I thought maybe I should at least look through all of them to see if I wanted to keep some of them. And that’s when I found the blessing.

            I noticed one of her poems that was titled, “My Best Friend,” and this is what it said: 

My Best Friend

He lives

Up in Heaven

He died

On the

Cross

For

Us

He is a

Miracle Maker

He makes it

Rain and snow

He died for us so

That is

Why he is

My best

Friend! 

            After I dried the tears from my eyes, I thanked God for her precious heart and thanked Him that I didn’t miss out on this blessing.

            Do you know Jesus like this? Is He your best friend? He died on the cross for you. He said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.  You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:13-15)

            Jesus didn’t die for us because we were such a great friend. The Bible says “that God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!” (Romans 5:8-9)

            We were powerless, ungodly, sinners when Christ died for us. That is what makes His love so amazing! You will never find a friend who loves you more than this. That’s what makes Him our best friend.

 “Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies… How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.” (Psalm 36:5 and 7)

            Every morning as I drop off my children at school, I have some final words for them as they get out of the car. They usually sound something like, “Make good choices,” “I’ll be praying for you,” “Have a great day,” “I love you.” 

            I thought it must be fun being the teachers that help students get out of their cars in the morning because they get to hear all the “final words” parents say to their children as they send them off on their day. What is it that they want them to hear and remember as they begin their day?

            This made me think about what Jesus’ final words were before He left this earth and returned to Heaven. What did He want us to hear and to remember as we live this life on earth? He was with His disciples and He told them, “‘You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.” (Acts 1:8-9)

            While the disciples were still staring up into the sky, the Lord sent two messengers to speak to them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11)

            As I read these verses, I saw three important things that Jesus reminded His disciples (and us) as He departed from this earth:

            First, He said, “I will empower you with my Spirit.” Even though they wouldn’t be able to see Jesus anymore, He was sending them His Spirit to be with them and empower them. Jesus told them that the Holy Spirit will, “remind you of everything I have said to you.” (John 14:26) So even though their Teacher was leaving them, His Spirit would continue to remind them (and us) of all He had taught them. The Bible says, “this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.” (I John 3:24) Are you keeping in step with His Spirit (Galatians 5:25) or are you grieving His Spirit? (Ephesians 4:30)

            Second, Jesus reminds His disciples to be His witnesses throughout the world…In Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8) In Matthew, He tells them to, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20) He commissions them (and us) to be ambassadors of the Gospel, “as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” (II Corinthians 5:20) Are you imploring others to be reconciled to God?

            And third, Jesus tells His disciples that He is coming back again. While the disciples were still watching Jesus ascend into Heaven, He sent two messengers to remind them, “He is going to return someday.” Jesus had told the disciples earlier that at the end of the age, “Men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.” (Mark 13:26) Do you believe that He will return again?

            So as you ponder Jesus’ final words, remember these things: We have been given power and wisdom through His Holy Spirit; we have been given an assignment to tell others about His saving grace, and we need to be prepared for when He returns again. Are you ready?

            On Christmas Day, a 23 year old man on a plane heading to Detroit attempted to detonate a device containing a high-explosive chemical. The man claimed to be on a mission for Al Qaeda, an extremist Muslim group. With this news still fresh in the media, we made our way to the airport early the next morning.

            The airport was packed with holiday travelers, and with tightened security due to this reported incident, it made for a very long wait getting through security.

            When we finally arrived at our gate, I immediately noticed a man that looked to be of Middle Eastern decent, with a full beard and clothed head to toe in religious garb. He wore a long robe and had a cross on the back of his head covering and a large cross around his neck. As I observed him, suddenly, a sense of fear stirred up inside of me. I didn’t know what his religious faith was, but I knew that many terrorist attacks were the result of religious zealots, claiming to be making the ultimate sacrifice for their “god.”

            As I boarded the plane behind my family, I ended up sitting on the aisle seat in the row across from this man; he sat in the seat by the window. I continued to glance over at him and pray like crazy for God’s protection of my family as we flew.

            Somewhere though in the middle of my prayers, my heart and focus completely changed. Within about ten minutes, I became more concerned about this man’s salvation than about my own safety. So I began to pray for him, that he would know the One true God and salvation through His Son Jesus. And as I prayed for him, my fears subsided.

            Having alleviated my fear, I picked up the book I brought with me and began to read. I was reading The Magnificent Obsession by Anne Graham Lotz, and God continued to work in my heart through it.

            In her book, Anne beautifully explains salvation in Christ alone, and speaks about how we need to look for opportunities to share our faith with those around us. She encourages us to pass on the baton of our faith: “God the Father sends you and me into the world to not only seek and save those who are lost but to bring them into a love relationship with His Son. We are to pass on the baton not only from generation to generation within our families but we are to pass it to others outside of our homes as well.” (page 232-233)

            As I continued to read, I continued to pray for this man across the aisle. Then I realized that God wanted me to do more than just pray. I read, “God the Father so loved everyone of every generation in the whole world that even before creation, He took counsel with Himself and decided to create each person for the purpose of knowing Him in a personal, permanent love relationship. Yet even as He brought us into existence, He knew we would sin and fall short of His purpose for our lives; therefore, He took the initiative and made preparations to send His own Son to be our Savior, who would give His life as a sacrifice to make atonement for our sin. Through faith in His death and resurrection, we can be forgiven of our sin, be reconciled to the Father, and come back into the purpose for which we were originally created. But that sacrifice is effective only for those who claim it for themselves by faith. And how will anyone know to do that unless they are told?” (page 233)

            With those last twelve words, I knew that I had to tell this man about Jesus. And as I thought about the practical reality of this, I felt prompted to give him my book. My first thought was that I didn’t want to give it up because Anne had written a personal note in the front of it and signed it. Then I thought, “I haven’t finished reading it yet.” I was on the last twenty-five pages, and felt an urgency to finish the book so I could pass it on.

            As I finished the book, feeling a little sick to my stomach , my palms sweaty and practically shaking, I stood up and stepped across the aisle. I leaned in toward the man and said, “You ‘look’ like a man committed to God, and I wanted to give you this book.” He smiled and thanked me, as the two people I had to reach across looked at me with an interested gaze. As I sat back down, he immediately opened the book and began reading. He read for the duration of the flight, and I continued to pray.

            As we landed, he smiled and gave me his card. So now I have a name and a church to pray for as well.

            Who is God putting in your path to share your faith with? Is it a neighbor, a co-worker, a total stranger? Look around you for those that He may be prompting you to share His love with, then pass it on.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1209/30973.html#ixzz0blh8NMj1

Several days ago, I received this email and picture from a friend:

“Yesterday, I set out a beautiful Nativity my friend gave me. I put it in
the typical arrangement... baby Jesus in the middle, Mary and Joseph on
either side, angel behind Jesus and the shepherds and others flanking the
family. This morning, my daughter Audrey wanted me to see how she had re-arranged it.

She had placed them as she thought they should be with baby Jesus in the middle and the

others circled around Him in adoration. I have attached a
picture for you. It may become our family tradition to always place Jesus
this way. How is it that my 5 year old is teaching me so much about the
true spirit of Christmas?! May my heart be centered on Him this Christmas
season. It is so easily distracted with traditions, to-do lists and
busyness!”
 

I read this email and replied to my friend, but did not share it with anyone in my family. So you can imagine my surprise when I walked into my study the next day and found my nativity set re-arranged in a circle with baby Jesus in the middle.

I immediately thought my eight year old daughter had done it, so I asked her about it. But she said it wasn’t her. So next I thought it might have been my 6 year old son, but he said it wasn’t him either. As I continued my investigation, I discovered that it was my 13 year old son. For some reason, this thrilled my heart even more to know it was him. I am so thankful that my teenage son “gets” the real meaning of Christmas, and that he would take the time to re-arrange everyone around baby Jesus.

 Let’s circle up around our Savior this season. Make an extra effort to center everything around Him. O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.

Merry Christmas!

        One evening, our family went out to dinner and my husband struck up a spiritual conversation with a young man that worked at the restaurant. As he came by our table, he began to tell us about all the different religions he had studied. He shared with us the name of a website that compares all the similarities between Jesus and the sun god, Ra. He talked about the beliefs of Hinduism, and told us about the amazing experience he had getting to meditate with a Buddhist monk.

        We both immediately recognized that he was searching for something to believe in. My husband told him, “It’s great to search and to ask questions, and its okay to doubt sometimes. You know, Thomas doubted…”

        At this, the young man interrupted saying, “I’m named after a guy like that. My name is Thomas.”

        The next morning as I got up to read and study my Bible, the designated passage of scripture for that day was titled, “Jesus appears to Thomas.” Believing this was no coincidence, I thought of our new friend Thomas we had met at the restaurant.

        Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection, but Thomas was not with them to see Jesus. “So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But [Thomas] said to them, ‘Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.’” (John 20:25)

        Thomas would not believe that Jesus had risen from the dead unless he saw Him for himself. So, “A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’” (John 20:26-27)

        I realized that Jesus re-enacted the same exact scenario just for Thomas. He came in the same manner to the same house and even said the same thing. This time so Thomas would believe. I prayed that Thomas would believe.

        I prayed using John 20:31 as my guide: “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” I prayed that Thomas would believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that he might have life in His name.

        Is there a Thomas in your life that you need to be praying for? Don’t miss out on the opportunities around you. Or maybe you are the Thomas. If so, my challenge to you is, “Stop doubting and believe.” Believe that you might have life in His name!

 “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” (I John 5:13)

          Many philosophers today claim that truth is relative. They say we all have our own ideas about truth. So what may be “truth” for you might not be “truth” for me. Do we really even want to know the truth? Pilate seemed like he wanted to know the truth.

          The Jews brought Jesus before Pilate to be judged by him, and the conversation went like this: 

“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”

Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

“You are a king, then!” said Pilate.

Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

 “What is truth?” Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. (John 18:35-38)           

          Pilate asked Jesus the question, “What is truth?” But then “he went out again to the Jews.” As I read this, I wanted to say, “Wait! Come back. You didn’t listen for the answer.” Jesus had just told him, “I came into the world to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” But Pilate didn’t listen to Him.

           Maybe if Pilate had waited and listened, he would have heard Jesus say, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) Or he might have heard Him say, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32) Or maybe He would have said, “I, the Lord, speak the truth; I declare what is right.” (Isaiah 45:19)

            Are you seeking truth? Are you asking God a question that you desperately need the answer to? Then ask Him, but don’t walk away. Wait before Him and listen for His answer.   

“This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time.” (I Timothy 2:3-6, NLT)

            Whenever I fly with my children, the flight attendant comes over and speaks to me after she has demonstrated all the safety features of the plane. She reminds me that if there is a change in cabin pressure and the oxygen masks drop down that I need to place the mask on myself first then put them on my children.

          At first, this may seem a little selfish, like “save yourself,” instead of the courteous, “women and children first” mentality. But the truth is that one of the side effects of oxygen deprivation is losing concentration and awareness. If the brain is deprived of oxygen even for a few minutes, then we are unable to think clearly or act properly.

          Therefore, if I take the extra time to try and put the masks on my children first, then I become less aware and less capable of completing the task properly. As a result, I may not have the ability to help myself or my children. But if I help myself first, then I will continue to receive the oxygen necessary to be able to help my children as well.

          In the same way, I can’t help my children (or others) spiritually if I haven’t nurtured my own spiritual life first. I won’t be thinking clearly in order to give them wisdom and help them in a time of need.

          How can I respond to them with God’s truth if I don’t know it? How can I teach them to know Jesus better if I don’t spend time with Him? How can I teach them to apply God’s Word if I don’t live it?

          In the event of an emergency, am I spiritually equipped to aid those that need rescuing?

 “Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work.”  II Timothy3:16-17, NET