Proverbs 14:5 (NIV)
5 An honest witness does not deceive, but a false witness pours out lies.

In the administration of justice much depends upon the witnesses, and therefore it is necessary to the common good that witnesses be principled as they ought to be; for, 1. A witness that is conscientious will not dare to give in a testimony that is in the least untrue, nor, for good-will or ill-will, represent a thing otherwise than according to the best of his knowledge, whoever is pleased or displeased, and then judgment runs down like a river. 2. But a witness that will be bribed, and biassed, and browbeaten, will utter lies (and not stick nor startle at it), with as much readiness and assurance as if what he said were all true. [Matthew Commentary]



Flywheel is a film about Jay, a Christian used-car salesman who becomes convicted that he has been grossly overcharging his customers. In this scene, conviction begins to settle in Jay's heart when he manipulates the sale of a car to his pastor.

As the scene opens, Jay is standing in the used car lot when he notices that his pastor is looking at a car. Jay walks over and says, "Well, the good Reverend came after all!"

"Jay, how's the car business today?" the pastor replies.

"We're making ends meet. It's good to see you. Tell me what I can do for you?"

"Well, I'm looking for a car for my daughter. She's our last one. I wish she were here, but she's out shopping for clothes with her mother. I'm just trying to find a good buy for her."

"Well, let me commit to giving you a good deal," Jay says, licking his chops.

The scene shifts to two salesmen that are sitting in the office that oversees the parking lot. Watching the interaction between Jay and the pastor, one salesman says to the other, "Hey, who is that guy with Jay? I think I've seen him before."

The other salesman looks out the window and says, "He's a minister, isn't he? Jay will probably give him a deal."

"Twenty bucks says he doesn't!" the other salesman fires back, knowing full well that Jay is a swindler.

"Do you really think he's going to stiff a minister?"

"Twenty bucks says he will!"

"You're on," the other salesman replies, and both watch from the window. As they watch Jay and his pastor examining a Camry, they check the files to see its listed price. The Camry is worth $6,500.

"Jay will sell it for $8,000," one salesman says. The other replies, "$7,000."

The scene shifts back to Jay and his pastor. After answering his pastor's questions about the Camry, Jay says, "I've got $8,500 in this car. If you want, I'll give it to you for $9,000."

Thinking it over, the Reverend decides to take it for a test drive. When Jay comes into the office, one of salesmen asks, "Is he buying it?"

"He might," Jay replies.

"You think he will?"

"I do."

"How do you know?"

"I sell cars for a living."

"Ha! At what price?"

The next scene shows Jay's pastor signing on the dotted line. As Jay walks the minister to the Camry, the two salesmen check the bill on the desk. They're surprised to see that Jay sold the car for $9,000, and they argue over who won the bet.

When the scene shifts back to Jay and his pastor, the pastor says, "Jay, thanks. You've treated me so well today. I would like to do something for you. I'd like to pray and ask God to bless you and your business."

"I'd appreciate that," Jay stutters.

"Let's pray." The minister puts his hand on Jay's shoulder, and says, "Lord, today I come before you and thank you for this day. I thank you for Jay and his business. I thank you for the car for Lindsay, and I ask that you protect her and give her grace as she drives this car. And Lord, I ask that you treat Jay just like he treated me today in this deal. In your name I pray, Lord, Amen."

"Amen," Jay says softly. As the minister drives away, Jay is left standing in the parking lot with a guilty look on his face.

[Flywheel (Sherwood Pictures, 2003), directed and written by Alex Kendrick; submitted by Jerry De Luca, Montreal West, Quebec, Canada]

James 1:21 (NLT)
21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.

We are called upon to suppress other corrupt affections, as well as rash anger: Lay aside all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, v. 21. The word here translated filthiness signifies those lusts which have the greatest turpitude and sensuality in them; and the words rendered superfluity of naughtiness may be understood of the overflowings of malice or any other spiritual wickednesses. Hereby we are taught, as Christians, to watch against, and lay aside, not only those more gross and fleshly dispositions and affections which denominate a person filthy, but all the disorders of a corrupt heart, which would prejudice it against the word and ways of God. [Matthew Henry Commentary]



In his book Over the Edge: Death in the Grand Canyon, Michael P. Ghiglieri chronicles the nearly 700 deaths that have occurred in the Grand Canyon since the 1870s. Of course most people aren't shocked that fatal mishaps occur there. After all, the Grand Canyon is 277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide, and attains a depth of over a mile (6,000 feet). The extreme temperatures (which often exceed 100 degrees) can quickly lead to heatstroke and dehydration.

So how did most of the deaths occur? Air crashes account for the largest number of deaths at the Grand Canyon. Floods have claimed the lives of some of the river rafters. Other despondent souls have taken their own lives. But according to Ghiglieri, a number of people have gone "over the edge" and fallen to their death through their own carelessness. Specifically, they ignored posted warnings and confidently walked out on to dangerous precipices.

For example, in 1992, a 38-year-old father jokingly tried to frighten his teenage daughter by leaping on to a guard wall. He flailed his arms as he pretended to lose his balance. Then he comically "fell" on the canyon side onto a ledge he assumed was safe. But sadly, after ignoring numerous warning signs, he lost his footing and fell 400 feet into the void below.

Then in 2012, an 18-year-old woman who was hiking on the North Rim Trail decided to venture off the beaten path to have her picture taken at a spot known as Inspiration Point. As she sat down on the ledge of the 1,500-foot deep canyon, the rocks gave way, and she plummeted to her death.

These deaths were not just tragic; they were also completely avoidable. Does anyone truly want his or her last words before "AAAAHHHHHH" to be, "Look at how close I can get to the rim without fall �. ?" Call me overly cautious, but without a hang-glider or parachute attached to my body, I can see the Canyon just fine 10 yards back from the precipice.

And yet many of us approach sin by asking the question, "How close can I get without crossing the line?" We avoid God's warning signs and then edge right up to disaster, confident that we�unlike other people�can avoid the crash. Like the child who listens to a parent's warning and then does everything to push the boundaries, we rush to the edge of sin with a false sense of security.

Romans 1:16 (NIV)
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.

There is a great deal in the gospel which such a man as Paul might be tempted to be ashamed of, especially that he whose gospel it is was a man hanged upon a tree, that the doctrine of it was plain, had little in it to set it off among scholars, the professors of it were mean and despised, and everywhere spoken against; yet Paul was not ashamed to own it. I reckon him a Christian indeed that is neither ashamed of the gospel nor a shame to it. [Matthew Henry Commentary]



John Stott shares the following story from 1958 when he was leading a university outreach in Sydney, Australia. The day before the final meeting, Stott received word that his father had passed away. In addition to his grief, Stott was also starting to lose his voice. Here's how Stott describes the final day of the outreach:

It was already late afternoon within a few hours of the final meeting of the mission, so I didn't feel I could back away at that time. I went to the great hall and asked a few students to gather round me. I asked one of them to read � "My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness," (2 Corinthians 12:8-9). A student read these verses and then I asked them to lay hands on me and � pray that those verses might be true in my own experience.

When time came for me to give my address, I preached on the [broad and narrow ways from Matthew 7]. I had to get within half an inch of the microphone, and I croaked the gospel like a raven. I couldn't exert my personality. I couldn't move. I couldn't use any inflections in my voice. I croaked the gospel in monotone. Then when the time came to give the invitation, there was an immediate response, larger than any other meeting during the mission, as students came flocking forward �

I've been back to Australia about ten times since 1958, and on every occasion somebody has come up to me and said, "Do you remember that final meeting in the university in the great hall?" "I jolly well do," I reply. "Well," they say, "I was converted that night."

Stott concludes, "The Holy Spirit takes our human words, spoken in great weakness and frailty, and he carries them home with power to the mind, the heart, the conscience, and the will of the hearers in such a way that they see and believe." [Michael P. Knowles, editor, The Folly of Preaching (Eerdmans, 2007), pp. 137-138]


The gospel is the �Good News� of the salvation for sins that can be found in The Lord Jesus Christ. God sent Jesus first for the Jews and then the Gentiles, which in reality is everyone else. God had a special place in his heart for the Jewish population, but God also loved all people and extended His Mercy, Grace and Love to all. Do not be ashamed of the gospel for it brings salvation to all who have faith.

Sadly, there are people throughout the Middle East at this very moment, who are questioned by soldiers of Allah, fighting under the flag of ISIS: "Are you a Christian?"

The reports say entire villages have answered, "Yes!" and families killed as a consequence.

So true, there have Christians throughout the years that have been killed when the only thing they have done is to hold firmly to the gospel of Jesus Christ. They were asaked to deny their faith and they would not. The result was their death.

But let us remember those who hold firm to the Gospel of Jesus Christ will have eternal life. They will not perish, but will life eternally in the presence of our Lord and Savior. Those who died here on earth live forever in heaven.

James 5:12 (NKJV)
12 But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your �Yes� be �Yes,� and your �No,� �No,� lest you fall into judgment.

But let your yea be yea, and your nay nay; lest you fall into condemnation; that is, "let it suffice you to affirm or deny a thing as there is occasion, and be sure to stand to your word, an be true to it, so as to give no occasion for your being suspected of falsehood; and then you will be kept from the condemnation of backing what you say or promise by rash oaths, and from profaning the name of God to justify yourselves. It is being suspected of falsehood that leads men to swearing. Let it be known that your keep to truth, and are firm to your word, and by this means you will find there is no need to swear to what you say. Thus shall you escape the condemnation which is expressly annexed to the third commandment: The Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. [Matthew Henry Commentary]



In his book When Life Is Hard, pastor and author James MacDonald shares a valuable lesson he learned during his days as a basketball player. He writes:

I played a lot of basketball back in the day. I sprained my ankles many times, and I learned too late that the best way to handle all that black-and-blue is to fill a wastebasket with ice and top it off with water. Then, while the injury is fresh, put your wounded foot deep into that cold water and leave it there.

If you can last for one minute, it's just crazy painful. But if you can keep it in there for two minutes, the injury and its recovery time will be cut in half. � If you can hang on for two and a half minutes, you can be playing basketball again by Thursday, but the pain of holding your foot in that arctic water will have you crying out for someone to bring you a sharp object. Even with my worst injuries I seldom made it two and a half minutes.

But here is the amazing thing about "remaining under the pain" of having your foot in that cold bucket: If you can hang in there for three minutes, you'll be walking on it tomorrow. The pain will be consuming those last thirty seconds, worse by far than the injury itself now. But you will walk tomorrow.

MacDonald concludes: "It is just that way with trials. You can come to the place where the circumstance itself is less painful than the commitment not to give up." [Van Morris, Mount Washington, Kentucky; source: James MacDonald, When Life Is Hard (Moody, 2010), p. 63]


It can be painful to give a truthful answer, especially when you have done something wrong. I use to watch the TV show COPs. So many times a person would get caught where it was clearly seen what they had done for the camera doesn�t hide many facts. Yet when the person was asked if they had committed the crime their answer would be �No.� It wasn�t until they realized they had been watched, the person next to them was an undercover officer, or they were just tired of lying would they finally admit the truth.

Also there are times in our life when we don�t want to commit so we say things like �I think�, �I guess�, �I�m not sure, but � .� You probably know those type of answers. If you need to say yes or no, follow God�s word and answer honestly and truthfully without swearing.

�����������

�Languages

Mary Magdalene, the Holy Myrrh-bearer and Equal to the Apostles

The Gospel of�Luke 8:1-3

At that time Jesus went on through cities and villages, preaching and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.




July 22

Reading:

Saint Mary was from Magdala in Galilee on the Sea of Tiberias, and for this was named Magdalene. When the Lord Jesus cast out seven demons from her, from which she had been suffering, she became His faithful and inseparable disciple, following Him and ministering unto Him even to the time of His crucifixion and burial. Then, returning to Jerusalem together with the rest of the Myrrh-bearers, she prepared the fragrant spices for anointing the body of the Lord. And on the Lord's day they came very early to the tomb, even before the Angels appeared declaring the Resurrection of the Lord. When Mary Magdalene saw the stone taken away from the tomb, she ran and proclaimed it to Peter and John. And returning immediately to the tomb and weeping outside, she was deemed worthy to be the first of the Myrrh-bearers to behold the Lord arisen from the dead, and when she fell at His feet, she heard Him say, "Touch Me not." After the Lord's Ascension, nothing certain is known concerning her. Some accounts say that she went to Rome and later returned to Jerusalem, and from there proceeded to Ephesus, where she ended her life, preaching Christ. Although it is sometimes said that Saint Mary Magdalene was the "sinful woman" of the Gospel, this is nowhere stated in the tradition of the Church, in the sacred hymnology, or in the Holy Gospels themselves, which say only that our Lord cast seven demons out of her, not that she was a fallen woman.

�����������

�Languages

8th Sunday of Matthew

The Gospel of�Matthew 14:14-22

At that time, Jesus saw a great throng; and he had compassion on them, and healed their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a lonely place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves." Jesus said, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat." They said to him, "We have only five loaves here and two fish." And he said, "Bring them here to me." Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass; and taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke and gave the loaves to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children. Then he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.

ADDITIONAL READINGS FOR TODAY:

John 20:11-18

St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians 3:23-29; 4:1-5





July 26

Reading:

Saint Hermolaus and those with him were priests of the Church in Nicomedia, living in hiding after the Emperor Maximian had burnt to death the 20,000 Martyrs of Nicomedia (see Dec. 28). It was Hermolaus who converted Saint Panteleimon to Christ. When Saint Panteleimon was seized as a Christian and was asked by Maximian who it was that had turned him from the idols, the Saint, enlightened by God that the time of his teacher's martyrdom also was at hand, revealed to Maximian that it was Hermolaus the priest. Saint Hermolaus was taken with Saints Hermippus and Hermocrates, and when they had confessed Christ to be the only true God, they were beheaded in the year 305. Saint Hermolaus is one of the Holy Unmercenaries.

Hebrews 12:1(NLT)
12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.

Here observe what is the great duty which the apostle urges upon the Hebrews, and which he so much desires they would comply with, and that is, to lay aside every weight, and the sin that did so easily beset them, and run with patience the race set before them. [Matthew Henry Commentary]



If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next � Aim at Heaven and you will get earth 'thrown in': aim at earth and you will get neither.

�C. S. Lewis, Irish professor, author, and apologist (1898�1963)

Set your mind on heaven and concentrate on what would benefit God�s heavens the most. There are many witnesses to confirm the testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The problem is we let too many burdens of this present world weight us down and we lose sight of the eternal life waiting for us. We get tripped up by sin and sin tries to destroy anything good we could accomplish. Do not let the weight of sin hold you back, but instead remember the love, mercy and grace of Our Lord. Run the race of life with patience knowing there is an eternity of life awaiting at the finish line for those who have placed their faith in The Lord Jesus Christ.

John 11:35 (NKJV)
35 Jesus wept.

This verse comes from the story of Lazarus who had died. He was the brother of Martha and Mary, all of which were friends to Jesus. The shortest verse in The Bible, yet it has great importance. The words, Jesus wept, shows the humanity of Jesus as tears fell down His face for His friends. It shows Jesus understood grief and He could weep as one who loved another.



My Mother-In-Law passed away last Monday around 3:30PM at the age of 86. We know her life was slowly stolen by either Alzheimer�s or Dementia.

For over a year had not been able to walk. For months she had not been able to get out of bed. For months she was only able to take small bites of food, and then she stopped eating. She was not able to communicate clearly. She had trouble breathing. She was in constant pain and she was only able to take drops of water at a time. We watched her decline, we had done all we could do without prolonging agony and suffering. Naturally we grieved for her as the disease was taking her life.

She left behind a husband of 61 years, along with a son and his wife, a daughter and her husband, 5 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren. We were all deeply grieved by her death. Her husband especially feels the emptiness and the loss of her presence; even though he knows she is in a better place; it is still difficult for him.

Jesus understands our grief. He saw the pain of the family after Lazarus had passed away. Jesus wept as He mourned with them. I believe Jesus also wept because He planned to perform a miracle that would take Lazarus from a beautiful place of eternity and place him back into this harsh world.

Remember Our Savior loves us and understands the pains of life. Jesus is always listening to our prayers and feels our tears. Know that His love, grace and mercy can sustain us through the most difficult of times, because Jesus faced the most difficult of times. Jesus faced those difficult times for our sake, so we could spend eternity with Him in heaven.

Alzheimer�s is a horrible disease. I personally have lost family members to Alzheimer�s and I know others who have loss family dear to them because of it.

Please remember these people in prayer. If you are able to give, please donate to www.alz.org or other charitable organizations such as http://www.leezascareconnection.org/ and even read more about this disease at http://www.alzheimers.gov/ which informs and guides families. May God bless you and ease any grief you may be experiencing.

Im sorry to hear of your loss.

Me as well.

Thank you. Her pain and suffering is gone and we rejoice that is at home in heaven in the comfort of The Lord's arms.

Matthew 5:14-16 (NLT)
14 �You are the light of the world�like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

Jesus reminds us that we are the reflection of God�s light in this world that like a city on a hill top or a light on a table so that our good deeds can be seen for others to know our love of God.



Rick Richardson, writes in Reimagining Evangelism: My friend Sam works at Einstein Brothers Bagels, where I write my books. Sam has a Muslim dad and a kind-of-Baptist mom. Recently, as I was going through the line, Sam waved me over. "I've lost my wallet again. I don't know where it is!"

"Sam, I will pray for you," I assured him.

"I guess it can't hurt," he replied (I get that response a lot).

Ten minutes later, he came over and told me he had found it. "All right!" I rejoiced. "Hey, you can ask me to pray for you any time." He laughed.

The next week as I went through the line, Sam let me know his ulcer was acting up. "Sam, is there anything I can get you?" I asked. He sent me over to the nearby Cub Foods to pick up some medicine. When I came back, I told him I would pray, too. This time he welcomed my prayers a little more enthusiastically.

Ten minutes later, he approached me and said he felt much better and hadn't needed to take the medicine. That was very unusual for him. "Man, I wish I had prayed for you before I went and bought that medicine!" I exclaimed. He laughed again.

These days, he doesn't wait for me to ask. When I see Sam, he often asks me to pray for him without any suggestion from me at all. [Rick Richardson, Reimagining Evangelism (IVP, 2006), p. 20-21]


Let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. For you are the light of the world.

John 1:12-13 (NLT)
12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They are reborn�not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

This verse tells us that all who believed and accepted Jesus Christ were given the right to become children of God; that is they became adopted by God to live as His children in His kingdom.




The other day I listened as my wife told a story of a man who was about to marry a woman who had a child. The father of the child had deserted them and had no interest in them.

Seeking to marry this woman, the father of this man, being a Godly person, told his son, �If you marry this woman, you also assume responsibility for her girl as she has no one of her own.�

The man carefully listened to his father. He married the woman and later adopted the girl. She was treated as she was his very own. She was always considered the first child in their family; even as they had more children. This girl learned the love of a father who adopted her without question, who loved her and respected her as one of her own.

My wife said the girl turned out to be a woman who understood the accepting love of another and never had a problem accepting the love of God the Father.


Give thanks to God who out of your belief of His Son takes you to be one of His adopted heirs.

1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV)
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, �Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.�

This is a reminder that God does not see things the way we do. While we look at the outward appearance of people, God examines the hearts of people.



Although we like to believe that beauty runs only skin deep, research shows that it pays to be good-looking. A 2010 survey by Newsweek concluded, "In all elements of the workplace, from hiring to politics to promotions � looks matter, and they matter hard." The research provided the following results:

Favoritism Happens: 57 percent of hiring managers believe an unattractive (but qualified) job candidate will have a harder time getting hired.

Favoritism Continues: 68 percent of hiring managers believe that, once hired, looks will affect the way managers rate an employee's job performance.

Your Looks Matter More Than Your Resume: 59 percent of hiring managers advised spending as much time and money "making sure they look attractive" as on perfecting a resume.

It's Worse for Women: 61 percent of hiring managers (and 60 percent of them were men) said that women would benefit from wearing clothes that show off their figure.

We Judge Overweight People: Although 75 percent of Americans are overweight, about 66 percent of managers said they thought some managers would hesitate before hiring someone who is significantly overweight.

We Also Judge Old People: 84 percent of managers said their bosses would hesitate before hiring a qualified candidate who looked much older than his or her co-workers.

We Think Favoritism Based on Looks Is OK: 64 percent of hiring managers said they believe companies should be allowed to hire people based on looks.


How do you judge the character of a person, by their looks or by their actions? Actions are lasting, but beauty is fleeting.

Jeremiah 33:2-3 (NIV)
2 �This is what the Lord says, he who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it�the Lord is his name: 3 �Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.�

God who created the Heavens and the Earth and all of creation says to us, �Call to me and I will answer you� and what we will learn are great and unknown things, which we have not understood. [Those that expect to receive comforts from God must continue instant in prayer. We must call upon him, and then he will answer us. ~Matthew Henry]




Phil Callaway didn�t know what to say when his young children asked if Mommy was going to die. His wife, Ramona, suffered horrible seizures. Hundreds of friends and relatives prayed, but Ramona�s weight eventually slipped to ninety pounds. Medical specialists tried everything, but by the fall of 1996, the seizures were occurring daily, sometimes hourly.

Phil rarely left Ramona�s side. He wondered if she would even make it to her thirtieth birthday. One evening, when things looked utterly hopeless, Phil paced their dark backyard, then fell to his knees. "God!" he cried out. "I can�t take it anymore. Please do something!"

As he stood, a doctor�s name came to mind. Phil called the doctor, who saw Ramona the next morning and diagnosed a rare chemical deficiency. Within a week, Ramona was a different person. The seizures ended. Her eyes lit up with the sparkle that had first attracted Phil to her. The miracle was so incredible Phil says, "God gave me back my wife." [Christian Reader (Jan/Feb 2002), pp.12-13; source: Luis Palau, It's a God Thing]


Jesus affirmed, Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you" Matthew 7:7.

Remember to pray, pray earnestly, and fervently that The Lord may grant answers beyond your expectation.

Psalm 118:5-9 (NKJV)
5 I called on the Lord in distress; The Lord answered me and set me in a broad place. 6 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? 7 The Lord is for me among those who help me; Therefore I shall see my desire on those who hate me. 8 It is better to trust in the Lord Than to put confidence in man. 9 It is better to trust in the Lord Than to put confidence in princes.

This account from David tells us of his distress and The Lord�s answer to him. David has no doubt that God is on his side. David has not doubt that God will be his defender when man fails to help.




Evelyn Bence in, Two Kinds of Thanks, from Christianity Today, November 1999 writes: My three hours at the shelter were not filled with dramatic scenes. From a corner of the large sleeping area, I helped serve dinner to 30 women who ate their substantial but bland meal, sitting cross-legged on their sleeping mats. Except for two boisterously irrational women, they talked little. By nine o'clock, many were bedding down for the night.

"Homeless." As I did the dishes, still within sight of the women, the word took on a personal meaning. These women slept here, but every morning when they left, they had to carry their possessions with them.

Suddenly I was overwhelmed with gratitude for my nightgowns, for my very own pillow, for my hand-picked dining room chairs. "Lord," I silently prayed as I walked to Christy's office to say good night, "thank you. Thank you�that I'm not one of them."

Christy met me in the hallway and interrupted my pharisaical thoughts with her own gratitude for my help. I asked her about certain women who had caught my attention.

Routy Rachel, Christy explained, had a Ph.D. in art history. Gradually her mind had slipped out of her own grasp. Ester, who had talked to herself all evening, was the mother of five children. She was a midwestern farmer's wife�until her life crumbled around her. Christy didn't know much about Carol, who had lain on her back for more than an hour, reading her King James Bible. Marla, who had seemed sullen, was a trained soprano who occasionally enjoyed serenading the rest of the group.

Only after I walked back out into the night air did the women's stories unsettle me. Their paths had too much in common with mine. In a sense, I was one of them: A mother's daughter. Vulnerable. A sinner in need of grace. � [Evelyn Bence, "Two Kinds of Thanks," Christianity Today magazine (November, 1999)]


We are all sinners in need of grace. May we deeply understand the love, mercy and grace The Lord extends us so we can demonstrate it in our own lives.

1 Peter 2:9 (NKJV)
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

In this verse the disciple reminds the people of Israel that they are a chosen generation of people that should proclaim the praises of God who brought salvation through His Son Jesus Christ. This nation was taught the difference between the darkness of sin and the holiness of light. Therefore they should live in the light as a holy nation.




America was founded by people seeking freedoms from the governments that oppressed them. Religious freedom was one of the motivations for colonists to come to America. Puritans and pilgrims wanted to be able to establish their religion freely without influence of politics and government. They wanted to be able to have freedom to worship as they pleased without being told what religion they should participate in.

The majority of those who founded America were Christians. Christians understood the laws handed down by God to the Jewish nation. They also understood the love, grace and mercy God had given through His Son Jesus Christ. Our country has been a great supporter of Israel because of common religious ties. However, it seems those ties have weakened just as the Christian population has weakened.

We need to remember we are NOT the chosen nation of God. Israel was the chosen people and only them. Others have benefited from the love, grace and mercy of God, but no others have told they were chosen as Israel was told.

I believe this nation must be careful not to lose the Christian beliefs and ties we have to Jewish religion. If we lose those values God may take away the blessings He has so freely placed on this nation. Many would agree the morality and previous values of this country have deteriorated. When the same happened with God�s chosen people, Israel, God allowed them to suffer the consequences. So do we really think as this nation moves away from God that we won�t suffer the same?

Psalm 46:1 (NLT)
1 God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.

God is our refuge and strength; we have found him so, he has engaged to be so, and he ever will be so. [Matthew Henry Commentary]



Kayla Mueller, 26 years old, was captured by ISIS, and on February 10, 2015 U.S. officials confirmed that Muslim extremists had murdered her while in captivity. In the spring of 2014 as a captor she wrote to her family. The letter begins with Kayla's assurance that she has been treated well, and is "in a safe location, completely unharmed + healthy." The 26-year-old aid worker goes on to apologize touchingly to her family for the suffering that she has put them through because of her captivity. Then comes her central proposition: "I remember mom always telling me that all in all in the end the only one you really have is God. I have come to a place in experience where, in every sense of the word, I have surrendered myself to our creator b/c literally there was no else."

Kayla, who was involved in the campus ministry at Northern Arizona University, goes on to relate how "by God + by your prayers I have felt tenderly cradled in freefall." She adds: "I have been shown in darkness, light + have learned that even in prison, one can be free. I am grateful. I have come to see that there is good in every situation, sometimes we just have to look for it."

She concluded, "Please be patient, give your pain to God. I know you would want me to remain strong. That is exactly what I am doing. Do not fear for me, continue to pray as will I. By God's will we will be together soon. All my everything, Kayla" [Stephen L. Carter, "On Kayla Mueller and Faith," BloombergView (2-13-15); submitted by Ted De Haas, Slater, Iowa]


God is our refuge and strength. When there is no one else, there is God. God is always present in our lives ready to help in times of touble.