Reed

Please pray for our friends Tyler and Amy Bishop. Their son, Reed, has been diagnosed with opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome. For a better understanding of this condition go to www.omsusa.org.

Why does God allow hard circumstances (like a sick child) to come into our lives? I'm sure there are many reasons that I don't know about because God's ways are higher than my ways and His thoughts are higher than my thoughts (Is 55:8-9). But, here is one verse from the Bible that is clear to me-- 2 Corinthians 1:8-9- "...we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead..."
So God allowed something to come into Paul's life that was above his strength. God allowed something to come into his life that was an immeasurable burden. Why? So that he would not trust in himself but that he would trust in God Who has the power to raise the dead. "I lift my eyes unto the hills where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord Who made the heavens and the earth"--Psalm 121:1-2.
So I'm not saying this is the only reason God has for allowing hard things to come into our lives, but it is clear that sometimes things come into our lives that our more than we can handle ("above strength")...But it is never more than God can handle! And those circumstances can teach us to trust God, the Creator of all things!

Tyler and Amy: We love ya'll! "This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your word has given me life." --Psalm 119:50. "Your words were found and I ate them and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart"--Jer 15:16

Word of God --------> heart of a child

Mamma caught me and Samuel reading our Bibles.

Ephesians 5:1--"be IMITATORS of God AS DEAR CHILDREN"

Children are imitators and they will imitate you mammas and daddies...Live a life worth imitating and pray for me that I would do the same.

Luke 6:40--"A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be LIKE HIS TEACHER." Lord, Help!!

2 Tim 3:15--"FROM CHILDHOOD you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."

To all parents:
Teach your children the word...talk about the word all the time (Deut 6:6-8). And lets pray for one another that God would make our children wise for salvation throught faith as we plant seeds of God's word in their hearts. Lets also pray that God would have mercy on our failures and weaknesses in this area.

To those who don't have children yet but may in the future if God wills:
Get ready now! This is just one of the many many reasons to "Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly" (Col 3:16).

Bob

Come on Keely!

So, Keely is due in 2 weeks, Sept 18th. Whoot Whoot!!! She could come two weeks early or two weeks late so she could come today or in October..crazy! I have found comfort in Gal 1:15, Paul knew God as the one who "separated me from my mother's womb." So unless the Lord shows us differently we rest in His perfect timing to begin labor. Waiting on Keely is a good reminder for me of how I need to be waiting and watching for Christ to return. I have Keely's clothes ready, sheets washed, everything organized in a little box for labor, I TRY to keep the house clean (although not a very realistic idea with Samuel and Ryan) ;)...etc, the point is I believe she is coming and I am actively waiting. I desire to be like this with Christ, because He said in Revelation that He is coming quickly. Rev 22:7,20
Jesus-please work it in us to be like the servant who is found watching. "Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching." Luke 12:37
Luke 12:40 "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect." Mar 13:37 "And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!"
Three things I see I need to be doing considering He is coming (I'm sure there are many more)
Preaching the gospel
Mat 24:14 "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
Encouraging the body of Christ
Heb 10:25 "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some; but exhorting: and so much the more, as you see the day approaching.
Living holy and godly, looking for and hastening the day of the Lord
2 Peter 3:10-12 "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?
Its so easy to believe that Keely is coming quickly because I have many reminders..28 pounds, messed up back, can't breath, kicks in the ribs, and so forth. But I pray that it would be just as real to me of Christ coming quickly!

Lydia

"..surely I am coming quickly." Jesus - Rev 22:20 EVEN SO, COME LORD JESUS!

Water Well

Persecution in Somalia

Workers killed for refusing to renounce their faith
MOGADISHU, SOMALIA (BosNewsLife)– Christians in Somalia faced a tense day Thursday, August 13, amid fresh reports that fighters of the country’s main Islamic insurgent group al-Shabab beheaded four Christian aid workers for refusing to renounce their faith in Christ.

International Christian Concern (ICC), a major advocacy group investigating reports of religious persecution, told BosNewsLife that al-Shabab members killed Fatima Sultan, Ali Ma’ow, Sheik Mohammed Abdi and Maaddey Diil after kidnapping them on July 27 in the coastal town of Merca, some 90 kilometers (56 miles) from the capital Mogadishu.

“The Islamists kidnapped and eventually beheaded the Christians after they refused to renounce their faith in Jesus Christ,” ICC said. The four Christians had reportedly been working for a local non-governmental organization that helps orphans in southern Somalia.

ICC said that on August 4, an unidentified junior al-Shabab militant notified families of the victims that the four Christians had been beheaded for apostasy. He allegedly described the Christians as promoters of “fitna,” a Muslim term for religious discord.

The militant, who called himself “Seiful Islam” (“the Sword of Islam”), told the families that the bodies will not be given to them “as Somalia does not have cemeteries for infidels,” ICC quoted the statement as saying. “All the four apostates were given an opportunity to return to Islam to be released but they all declined the generous offer,” a witness of the beheading allegedly said.

MORE THREATS
The reported killings of Christian aid workers came shortly after al-Shabab declared three United Nations agencies working with the country’s U.N.-backed transitional government as “enemies of Islam” and said their operations in Somalia have been shut down.

Al-Shabab also claimed responsibility for other attacks against the Christian minority in Somalia, which has been plagued by widespread lawlessness and anarchy. Earlier last month, al-Shabab beheaded seven people in the southwestern town of Baidoa after accusing them of converting to Christianity and spying for the transitional federal government of Somalia, Christians said.

In 2008, fighters of the group killed more than a half dozen Somali Christians, ICC added.

Matthew 7:11---If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

I love how at the end of the video Lydia says "God longs to give good things to those who ask Him" and then Samuel says "daddy,daddy,daddy, I want more"




Happy Birthday Samuel!