What happens to all of the time in each day? I wake up each morning always having so many plans of what I will accomplish that day. I go about my daily routine. If I'm not at work, I'm home doing housework: laundry, dishes, straightening up the house, paying bills . . . you understand, you've been there. Before I know it, I'm making supper and it's getting dark outside. They day is nearing an end and I didn't accomplish everything I wanted to get done. I feel a little disappointed that I didn't meet all of my goals for the day. It seems like there is just not enough time in the day to do everything that a busy person needs to do.
Well, running out of time is very frustrating. The Lord makes it clear to us that there is one thing we must do before we run out of time. It is of the highest importance. These are the words Our Heavenly Father gave me this morning:
Make time for me now, my child. Do not put off tomorrow what you can do today. For you know not what will happen tomorrow. You do not even know what will happen five minutes from now. How do you know that you will even be here tomorrow? My children must seek me now and make themselves right with me. Come to me with all of your heart and soul and seek me with everything you have in you. Put me first in your life and everything else will fall into place. For I created you and everything good in your life. I have given and I can also take away. You know not the day my son Jesus will come to judge the inhabitants of the earth. It will be too late for those who have not yet become right with me. Tell your friends and your family these things I have told you today. Those who know me when the day of judgement comes will spend their lives in eternity with me. Those who do not know me will perish and spend eternity separated from me.
Mark 1:15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Mark 10:15 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 1Thessalonians 4:16-18 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
The Lord wants us to make him the highest priority in our day. He wants us to put him first above all other things. He is waiting to hear from all of his children. Are you right with the Lord? Will you seek him before time runs out?
As we left the house this morning to head to worship service, I couldn't help but notice the beauty of the scene around me. As we traveled to the church, I noticed the the fog as it completely enveloped us in all directions. The sparkling white frost on the tree branches and the thick coating of snow on the ground made a winter wonderland that was worthy of being framed and hung on our wall. I couldn't help but think how awesome the Lord is to create all of this beauty just for us, his children that he loves dearly. How amazing is it that God, the Almighty Creator, loves us this much and also that he wants to meet us on a personal level. He wants to walk with us daily. He wants to be involved in every detail of our lives. On one hand, his power and might are beyond what we are even capable of imagining. On the other hand, he relates to us intimately and knows us better than we even know ourselves. The bible says that he even knows how many hairs are on our heads.
Luke 12:6-8:
6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. 8 “I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God.
As I took a closer look at the fog around me, I thought about the dangers involved in traveling into a thick white haze. We couldn't see what was in front of us. What if there was a car coming toward us that was driving in our lane? What if a deer was standing in the middle of the road up ahead? What if there was a large pothole that we couldn't see? There could even be a freshly fallen tree laying across the road. I realized that driving into the fog took a certain degree of faith. I compare it to trusting in the Lord when you follow his will for your life instead of following your own will. This certainly takes a lot of faith. When God tells you to do something, you may not know what is ahead. He often doesn't reveal his entire plan when you take that first step. It can be very uncomfortable and even scary to step into the fog when you can't see what's to come. However, you will be rewarded by having faith and trusting in him. Will you have the faith to follow the Lord into the fog?
I just finished reading The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven by Kevin and Alex Malarkey. It is a great, truly inspirational book. I highly recommend it to everyone. It is absulutely amazing what this boy overcame and the ways the Lord has healed him. The accounts of Heaven are fascinating as well. You won't be disappointed.
God is so cool! I wasn't exactly sure what the subject of my most recent blog would be. After spending some time talking to the Lord, I felt like he wanted me to blog about miracles and specifically to include a testimony of my own miracle. I knew for sure that God wanted me to share about miracles when he gave me those amazing words about everyday miracles. The Lord again confirmed it when I found this message in my Dove chocolate just two days after I posted the miracle blog. Isn't the Lord awesome how he connects everything in our lives?! He gives us daily confirmation (if we are paying attention enough to notice.)
Psalm 139:1-6
1 You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely. 5 You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
Ecclesiastes 11:5
5 As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed[a] in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.
Your Destiny is not about dreaming up the biggest dream you can dream for God. Your destiny comes as you discover what God has already shaped you to be and do. You don't invent your destiny. You discover it! Your destiny will be your unique and ultimate contribution to the plan of God. It will be bigger than you think. It will engage your passions. It will intersect every area of your life. It will rise up from God's values that He builds into your life. It will be grounded on a Biblical foundation. It will be integrated with God's ultimate purposes.
I would like to share with you the story of a true miracle. Everything you are about to read is the absolute truth.
I was a 21 year old college student when I noticed a large mass protruding from the right side of my abdomen. You could see the mass with your eyes and feel the mass with your hands. I knew this was obviously not normal so I went to see my doctor. He was perplexed and sent me to a local surgeon. The surgeon was also perplexed. He ordered an ultrasound of my gallbladder. While I was having the ultrasound, the technician said she needed to go get the radiologist. I sensed that this was a bad sign. The radiologist returned to tell me that there appeared to be a large mass in my liver. A CT scan was scheduled for a few days after this. After I had the CT scan, my mother and I were informed that I had multiple inoperable tumors throughout my abdomen. The report indicated that I had tumors in my liver and pancreas as well as a large tumor wrapped around my aorta. I was in shock. INOPERABLE! Translation: you are going to die from these tumors! A biopsy guided by CT scan was scheduled for 2 weeks later. I informed my family and friends of the bad news. Everyone, including me, was in total shock. I was young and healthy. How could I be dying?
I had a good friend at the time who was a minister's daughter and a Christian. Her name is Amy. Amy told me that she and her family as well as her entire church congregation would be praying for me and my health issues. I was grateful and thanked her but I didn't really expect much to result from the prayers. I was not a Christian at the time. To say the least, I was completely clueless about the things of God.
I went to have the biopsy 2 weeks later. The radiologist was dumbfounded. "Why?" you ask. Because this CT scan only showed one tumor, in my liver. There were no other tumors in my pancreas, around my aorta or in any other part of my abdomen. I asked the radiologist if perhaps the first CT scan showed all of the "tumors" because the contrast that I drank didn't distribute properly to all areas of my abdomen and just made it look like I had tumors. He said that this was not possible and that several physicians from the area had met to look at my previous CT scan. He said that they all had agreed that I had multiple inoperable tumors. The radiologist said that he couldn't explain why the other tumors were gone and that I should consider it a miracle. I proceeded to have the tumor in my liver biopsied. It was benign. I did end up having a liver resection (a large portion of my liver removed) and my gallbladder removed.
Now that I am a Christian, I look back on all that has happened in my life and the ways that God has worked in my life that I didn't recognize then. Certainly, the fact that he saved me from inoperable cancer is nothing other than a miracle. I am so thankful to the Lord for everything in my life, including my health and well-being. I am completely healthy and cancer-free to this day. I'm not saying that having a major surgery was easy, but I can see how God used that time in my life to draw me closer to him. Everything that happens in my life is part of his master plan for me. I feel so blessed that he performed a true miracle in me and that I can use that miracle to touch the lives of others.
I prayed about what words the Lord wanted me to share today. These are the words that he gave me:
I perform miracles everyday. Some miracles are small and barely noticed, like each breath of air you breathe or the beauty of the sun's rays providing energy and life to plants and trees. Other miracles are huge and unexplainable, like the healing of someone with a terminal illness or the survival of a person involved in a horrific accident.
There is nothing I cannot do. I created the heavens and the earth. I created every living thing. I formed you when you were in the womb. My power and might is beyond what you are even capable of imagining. I can move mountains if I want to. I heal the smallest cut without you even thinking of how it heals - it is a miracle. All things I have created are miracles in themselves. Think of the conception, development and birth of a child. Is that not a miracle? What about the sacrifice of my son, Jesus so that you can live free of sin and guilt and spend an eternity in my presence? Is this not the greatest miracle of all? My children are so wrapped up in their busy lives that they can't even see all of the miracles around them. Take the time to look around you and see all of the wondrous miracles I've placed in your life. Look at the sun, the stars, the moon and the clouds. Observe the majestic view from a mountain top. Watch the sun sink into the horizon as it sets over the ocean. Examine a single flower or butterfly in all of it's beauty. Look at your own body and all of it's miracles - the very beating of your own heart that circulates oxygen-rich blood to all of your tissues.
Do not take all of these miracles for granted. Notice them and breathe them in. I did not create the earth and all of it's miracles for me, I created them for you. That's how much I love you. When you notice one of the many miracles around you, take the time to acknowledge me in it and spend some time with me.
Psalm 77:10-15 10 Then I thought, “To this I will appeal: the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand. 11 I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. 12 I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.” 13 Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God? 14 You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. 15 With your mighty arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.
Being healed from cancer isn't the only miracle I have experienced. The Lord has healed me physically as well as spiritually. My Heavenly Father has healed my body and my soul. If you want to read about how the Lord saved me from certain death and an eternity without him, please read Salvation in my November 2011 blog archive. If you want to read more about how to have your soul saved from certain death, please read A Fresh Perspective in my December 2011 blog archive.
Have you witnessed a miracle, big or small? If you have, I would love to hear about it. Have a great day. http://www.biblegateway.com/
