A Remarkable Story of God's Love and Faithfulness. Ken Helser Testimony.

Thanks is the doorway of God to reveal His purposes.

1Thessalonians 5:18 (NKJV)

¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

What is thanksgiving? Is it a feeling? Is it an emotion? Is it something we do because we should? What does it accomplish? What is its power over evil?

True thanksgiving is the power in the human heart to get past the fiery trial, to set aside difficulty and look past the things that anger and upset us.

True thanksgiving leads all of us to look to the One who made us. To call out to Him in faith thanking Him for those things. 

Romans 8:28 (NKJV) says:

²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 

The hard things. The impossible things. The crazy things that happen to you. Thanks is the doorway of God to reveal His purposes. Giving thanks shapes you into a true disciple of His. Thanks trusts always, hopes always, looks to the one who works all things together for good. Thanks is the vote of confidence in God. When we thank Him even in the midst of the fiery trial, we are saying we accept His will and all that comes with it. We trust He will work in us. We trust that He is able. We trust He will teach us. We trust that His Word is truth.

Psalm 30:5 (NKJV)

⁵ For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for life;
Weeping may endure for a night,
But joy comes in the morning.

On this Thanksgiving Day, we have lots of things that are easy to give thanks for. Healthy children, food and shelter, warm clothes on our back and good friends.  The hard things are hard to give thanks for. Give the difficult things to Him today and thank Him for taking them and transforming you today. Jesus is waiting.

The Parable of the Trunk and the Children

A man had gone away to war and  had been gone from his family many years. His children were young and knew very little of him before he left but still they wondered about their father. One day while exploring the attic the children found a large trunk. They started to rumble through the trunk and realized all items in it belonged to their father. 

One child found an old hat. It looked like a hat that a farmer wore. She mused "Daddy must have been a farmer!" The others all looked in amazement at the hat. 

Another child spoke up. "I saw a coach driver with that same hat. Daddy must have been a coach driver!" Each child had their own theories.

The youngest there found a sword. He got very excited! "Wow! Daddy must have been a knight! I can just see him now! Riding into battle fearlessly! Slaying the enemies of the kingdom!"

This went on for hours. Each new treasure brought more questions and more conjectures. Each child had an image of who their father was.

After hours of the kids being absent from her sight, the mother began to look for her children. She found them still in the attic, digging through the trunk. 

"What are you children doing up here! She asked. 

We are looking through daddies things and trying to figure out what he is like. We can barely remember what he looks like, but we want to know! Can you please tell us. So beginning with the hat and going through each item in the chest, the mother explained the wonder and the depth of the father. The children wept for joy to understand how wonderful their father was and how much he loved each of them. Each child was given an item from the trunk that the father had instructed the mother to give just for them.

Later that evening a man showed up at the door. It was a man who knew  their father very intimately. He said that his friend, their father had instructed him to teach them important things that he wanted them to know. He sat down with them and instructed them from the beginning to the end all that they needed to know to mature and be like their father.

Who do you think these people people and things represent?

The children

The father

The mother

The trunk

The friend

Christmas Dream

I dreamed last night. (Christmas Eve) I dreamed of a gift. Two large diamonds in a beautiful setting were given to me by an anonymous person. They were worth a large sum of money. One diamond was beautiful and perfect. It radiantly reflected its beauty. The second diamond was mostly beautiful except for a dark hole in it. I hid the jewelry for a time and when I retrieved it, the worth had doubled. Also the hole in the flawed gem was a bit smaller and had improved in beauty. This is where the dream ended. I woke up and wondered at my dream. What could that mean?

God showed me His meaning. The Christmas gift of the Christ child is two parts for us in simplicity. The value is beyond money, but God used monetary value in my case to help me understand the symbolism. The perfect beautiful diamond is Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross for us and His resurrection. It is the work done to present us to the Father as perfect flawless gems. The second diamond represents the work He is doing to sanctify us. Through our intimate relationship with God, the Holy Spirit transforms and beautifies us and makes us more like Jesus.

So the dark spot I saw on the second diamond is where I am, in the sanctification process. The spot got smaller, meaning more of Him and less of me. This wonderful fantastic walk with Him is worth every step. Over time He has made me braver, stronger, more loving, gentler, and more obedient to His will. There was a time I feared losing myself if I allowed more of Him to be formed in me. I see now that He is restoring us to that lovely relationship that He had with Adam and Eve that prospered in the garden before the fall of mankind. That relationship with God was purer, sweeter and more innocent than the religious one men try to have today.

We need to stop asking what we can do to find God’s favor. We need to look at what He has done to save us and have a relationship with us. It isn’t the works we do that bring us closer to Him. It is the work that Jesus did to restore us to Him and make a relationship with God, the greatest treasure you will ever know. This isn’t possible without accepting the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for you. 

Thank You Jesus for Your precious gift on this Christmas day!

The cross is better than any black Friday deal...

 

 The cross is better than any black Friday deal you can think of. On that black Friday Jesus willingly gave His life to pay for all the sins of humanity. The cross is not a black Friday lightning deal or a stand in a line to get a fantastic price on big-screen TV deal. The cross deal is not limited by human constraints. It is the price already paid to ransom us from a lifetime of sin and guilt! It is the power of God to save! The love of God displayed! The depth of His power and care shown to His creation. He brings us back to the garden relationship that Adam and Eve had with Him before the great fall of man. He restores and heals and extends His scepter of mercy to His children to come and sit at His table and dine! Wow! It is far better than Amazon or Walmart, more extravagant than Neiman Marcus! The cross opens the way to the greatest treasure the World has ever known. To know and experience His love on this Thanksgiving day is what I live for. So if you ask me what I am thankful for today, I think you know how I will answer! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Atheist to Christian Testimony - Powerful!

Feeling Insignificant Today?

This really hit me hard. Sometimes I feel a bit alone and then I realize: The same God who created the Universe absolutely loves me and wants an intimate relationship with me. How wonderful is that? My God, my creator, the lover of my soul is a friend closer than my breath. He is always there for me in my sorrow and joy.

Rooms by James L. Rubart

Rooms is a book that has a serious believability problem. The problem however, doesn’t lie with the author but with some readers. For many readers this story will make them ponder supernatural things. The author is unashamedly Christian, so therefore it is written from a Christian worldview. A worldview where God is King and anything, and I mean anything can happen. In this book the impossible becomes an every day occurrence.

This isn’t everybody’s cup of tea. If you don’t believe in a supernatural God who is personally interested in you, you may want to skip this book. If however you think there is a chance God is reaching out to you to form a loving personal relationship, you will get much from reading this one.

The major point of the book doesn’t dwell on sin so much as what a deep relationship with Christ looks like in a human being. There are many Christians who go to church every Sunday, who are not living a Christ centered life, a life where God is central and first. That is hard to do in a human sense. But what if you could let go of your white-knuckled Christianity and let God have those areas of your life? What would that require of you? Perhaps an 80% surrender rate? 90%? 99%? Mr. Rubart’s answer lies between the pages of Rooms and it is breathtaking and heart wrenching!

If you are looking for a read that will furnish thought provoking challenges to your walk in Christ this might be the one for you. My suggestion, enjoy the ride, think of God as someone who can do anything (He is by the way), and leave your believability problems in your top sock drawer.

The Third Heaven: The Birth of God by Donovan Neal

I think what makes Donovan Neal's writing so unique, is his ability to take scripture, early Hebrew writings and folklore and put them together in a thrilling plausible story written from a heavenly viewpoint. Handling time and theological mystery with aplomb, he gives us a glance into what an angel might view and feel.

I love the personalities and attributes of the different types of angels and the explanation of the ongoing war between Heaven and Satan's fallen angels. This was a fun read and in no way should we look at this book as revelation or scripture, though its contents are loosely based on scripture. As stated by the author this is speculative Christian fiction. You can't help but wonder at the things we cannot see and the longing in our hearts for the unknown back-story that frames the history of mankind. We know that God loves us, and yet to trust Him sometimes is so hard. We see the same problem with many of the angels in this story.

The character of Enoch is also very interesting and knowing the Old Testament we know that he did not die as other men but was brought to heaven because of his close walk with God. In this book he is given life and character. If he is anything like he is portrayed in this book I can see why God took him without death.

All in all this was a very satisfying romp through the imagination and story telling prowess of Mr. Donovan Neal. I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoys Christian Speculative Fiction. It is a real treat to look at heaven from a different viewpoint and let your imagination go! I am eagerly awaiting the third book of the series.

5 Stars

 

AWAKEN

Awaken

One man awake,

Awakens another.
The second awakens
His next door brother.
The three awake can rouse a town
By turning
the whole place
Upside down

The many awake
Can cause such a fuss
It finally awakens the rest of us.
One man up,
With dawn in his eyes
Surely then
Multiplies

--Lawrence Tribble

Written in the late 1700's, Awaken is a poem about the Great Awakening,

 a movement of God's Spirit and the subsequent results of God's saving grace in men. God's relationship with you results in such a change! Your prayers for others results in God awakening others to His grace. His presence in a person makes them a new creation that realizes God loves them so much, that He (Jesus) died and was raised again to provide a way for us to have an intimate relationship with Him. God's love abounds in such a child of His. With God's love in your heart you will surely multply!

I believe that God is sending another Great Awakening. Don't miss this one! It may be the last before His return!

Chased by Hounds

"Desportes fox" by Alexandre-François Desportes

"A dear friend of mine who was quite a lover of the chase, told me the following story: ‘Rising early one morning,’ he said, ‘I heard the baying of a score of deerhounds in pursuit of their quarry. Looking away to a broad, open field in front of me, I saw a young fawn making its way across, and giving signs, moreover, that its race was well-nigh run. Reaching the rails of the enclosure, it leaped over and crouched within ten feet from where I stood.
A moment later, two of the hounds came over, and the fawn ran in my direction and pushed its head between my legs. I lifted the little thing to my breast, and, swinging round and round, fought off the dogs. I felt, just then, that all the dogs in the West could not, and should not capture that fawn after its weakness had appealed to my strength.’

“So is it, when human helplessness appeals to Almighty God. Well do I remember when the hounds of sin were after my soul, until, at last, I ran into the arms of Almighty God.”
--A. C. Dixon

Be Brave Part 1- Bethel Music

Wow! Inspirational Video by Bethel Music speaks to the heart! Enjoy!

LifeLock CEO’s Identity Stolen 13 Times

Were you thinking about getting LifeLock to prevent identity theft? You may want to rethink that stategy.

Apparently, when you publish your Social Security number prominently on your website and billboards, people take it as an invitation to steal your identity.
LifeLock CEO Todd Davis, whose number is displayed in the company’s ubiquitous advertisements, has by now learned that lesson. He’s been a victim of identity theft at least 13 times, according to the Phoenix New Times.

Original Wired.com article.

Determined Osprey Thwarts Maryland Transportation Authority

Once in the while an unlikely hero steps into the limelight and impresses us with his brazen disregard for the authorities in his quest for a greater goal. And so in front of the traffic camera designated Gantry N-1, on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, our hero Mr. Osprey has decided to take a stand.

This determined bird is on his fourth nest after the Maryland Transportation Authority has torn down 3 others that were blocking Gantry N-1’s view of traffic. I live along a highway so I have to say I’m on the bird's side!

The best part of this to me is the fact that intelligent human beings see no other solution than to remove the nest. I’m not sure what these cameras look like or how they are situated, but how about an extension pole to lift the camera a little above the nest. You waste a ton of taxpayer money already so how about it? Let's stop and think of a way to preserve and not destroy the osprey’s quality of life.

Here is the Fox News report of the story.
Here is a Link to the Traffic cam to see our hero. Choose the camera link Gantry N-1.

Update: Fox News Report Update  An Osprey who continued to try building a nest on a Bay Bridge traffic camera will be accommodated, the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) announced on Wednesday.
Update2: Traffic cam, Bay Bridge ospreys coexisting: A newly built platform allows a family of ospreys to live next to, instead of in front of, a Maryland Transportation Authority traffic camera on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. (Barbara Haddock Taylor/Baltimore Sun video)

Some more photos...

 

Jeff and Cheryl Scruggs

Jeff and Cheryl Scruggs share how God healed them and their marriage. It is an incredible story of how God can change lives. Also here is the link for the story on the "I Am Second" website.

The Third Heaven: The Rise of Fallen Stars - Donovan Neal

This speculative Christian fiction novel has been described as a prequel to the Bible. Please let me preface this review with a disclaimer. In no way is this book to be taken as a true scriptural approach to the events surrounding the fall of Satan and the rebellion of one third of God's angels. It is what it claims to be: A speculative book. Based on scripture, The Third Heaven gives us a possible behind the scenes look at the events of the great war and fall of Lucifer and his fallen angels. It is designed to answer how, along with one third of the angels, Lucifer lost his position in Heaven.

I thoroughly enjoyed the author's take on the fall of Lucifer and how that came to be. The reasoning behind how Satan thought he could get away with supplanting God on His throne and taking His place was an example of creative writing at its finest. The action and war scenes were masterfully and emotionally penned. The story flows wonderfully and his prose is remarkable. The descriptive passages seem to lift from the pages into your imagination. Descriptions of angel's personalities make them all the more real. Neal's handling of the story in my opinion was quite plausible.

Mr. Neal realizes that this story is hugely speculative and that there are problems with telling it. The fact that there isn't much written in the Bible about it is a witness to that fact. He has provided a link for some of these questions at: http://donovanmneal.wix.com/donovanmneal#!thinking-behind-the-third-heaven-series/c22ty I would recommend you read this before reading the book, though it's really not necessary. I am looking forward to the next installment in this series.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the story of the fall of Satan and the one third of angels. At the very least this book provides some possible thoughts as to how this came to be. Just remember, keep telling yourself "It's just a story!"

Rated 5 Stars

The Third Heaven: The Rise of Fallen Stars

Jason Gray - Remind Me Who I Am

The New Reality by Stephen Martino

Stephen Martino has written a fast paced science fiction thriller. I love Stephen’s creativity and imagination as he weaves a web of intrigue and wonder. Interspersed with comedy and emotion, it’s a great ride that I could easily see being made into a movie.

While the characters seem a little weak at first, they soon bloom into interesting people you will either hate or love. The Alex Pella character is a little vague. I still don’t have a good feel for him even at the end of the book, only that he is a good guy and a bit mysterious. Since this is an Alex Pella series, I would expect that he would be deeper as revealed in future stories.

While the book is completely a work of fiction, it still relies on historically accurate facts, of which Mr. Martino has done a wonderful job of researching. I love books that make me want to look things up. Sometimes I would expect this fact or that to be made up and after research I would find it to be true in many cases.

The story starts in the future in the year 2080. We see a world that is the result of world economies and policies we are living in today.  Human experimentation, DNA engineering and the backlash that is inevitable create a sickness that threatens the extinction of the human race. Only one man holds the key to a cure. The problem lies in finding the key and what it means.

The story that combines a Millerite, Bible codes, John the apostle, historic locations, and the future you can see evolving from our current world economy and situations, has to be woven in a fluid manner. Stephen Martino is successful in all the transitions this requires. This book is a good edge of your seat page turner! I highly recommend it.

An advance copy of the book was supplied to me in return for a review.

 5 Stars!
The New Reality (Alex Pella)

Pyramid of Secrets by Tracy L. Higley

I understand that this is a rewrite of a book by Tracy entitled “City of the Dead”. Having not read the original I can’t comment on whether or not this is a better version. I can only state that if you like historical fiction and/or murder mystery with lots of plot twists and intelligent, well-researched writing, you will love this book.

Tracy does an excellent job of placing the reader at a location in geography and time. You can almost look around and take in the landscape and people. I love historical fiction, but Tracy Higley makes it come alive. Her prose floats effortlessly, stimulating your mind and spirit.

The “People of the One” while being fictional, hold up to the believable all the way to the probable. People seeking God definitely find Him, so no believability problem there. Several others involved in the plot were actual historical people who lived in that time period. They were very believable and I love the descriptions of the ruling and worker classes and the systems they lived under.

Descriptions of the Egyptian gods and the differences between the “One God” especially in the mercy area and the afterlife spoke to my heart and made me appreciate my own relationship with Christ.

This is the sixth Tracy Higley novel I’ve read and she hasn’t disappointed yet.

My Rating 5 Stars

We have a Living God!

I just attended my first men's bible study at my church. Usually there would be 20 to 30 men there, but today there were only 4. The leader didn't show up and no one else did. Apparently it was cancelled, but the word didn't get out to everyone. Dennis and I were the first to get there, so we talked about our life situations.

I Talked about the printing industry, the bad economic times and changes in the industry itself, and how it has changed my life. Dennis talked about being out of work for four months and about a new job that he is going to start in two weeks. Dennis's real trepidation is in the fact that he has poor writing skills and a reading disability that he thinks may hurt his job performance.

Paul came in and we discussed his part time job and how he wanted to go full time and how impossible that seemed. Paul is 77.

Charlie came in and we discussed the fact that Charlie has gone down an impossible road, with a tragic accident that almost cost him his leg, Charlie is on disability and now volunteers to help as much as he can at the church.

Suddenly my situation wasn't so bad. It allowed me to focus on someone else besides me.

We sat and talked and shared about our families, our expectations and our prayers. I shared about a person whom I have been praying for for many years. God has recently increased my vision for him. It was not enough to pray for him and his family, God wants me to pray for the whole area he lives in! We all agreed on one thing. We all have a Living God who is amazing! He wants us to believe the impossible. He wants us to believe that where we fail and are lacking, He is able and willing to do amazing things on our behalf. We also believe that if two or more are gathered in His name, He is there in the midst of them and if two of us agree about anything we ask for, it will be done for us by our Father in heaven. Our brother Jesus was there in our little meeting. Perhaps encouraging us to share and pray for one another. We ended with prayer for these situations, believing that God would stretch Dennis and give peace to him about the job.

Normally walking into a bible study with one person sitting there would seem like a sign from God to forget coming back. I know enough to trust that He has a plan. I now know 3 other men a lot better and have shared in their lives and prayed with them. There are no accidents. He has plans for each of us. Next time it seems that things didn't go the way you planned, look around and be patient. The Living God has a plan for you!