Abundance of The Heart

"Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." - Matthew 12:34

When I first saw this picture, I just stared at it for a while. I looked at the hearts - a symbol of love. I examined the hands - they are giving hands.

The giving of one's heart to someone else is the ultimate expression of love. It tells that person that we love them.

Of course, we don't really give our hearts to anyone. We would be killing ourselves if we actually did that. But sometimes our love for that person is so strong that, if they truly needed our heart, we would relinquish it. That's sacrificial love.

After my mother died several years ago, I was at a festival downtown. I was busy doing something. I wasn't really thinking about my mother's death at all. That's when the crowd parted and a friend of mine came walking towards me.

"Hi Bob! Long time, no see. What's new in your life?"

It wasn't long before I was telling my friend about the loss on my mom and getting all emotional as I did so. I hadn't really grieved for my mom until that very moment.

Recently, that same friend, who had comforted me simply by listening and giving me a hug, lost her own mother. I knew I HAD to go to her mother's viewing to express my condolences. AND to return the favor.

When I got to the church, I saw a group of people off to the side, talking with one another. I signed the guestbook and walked into the sanctuary. I didn't see my friend but began talking with her son and then with her husband who were both in the room.

Soon however, my friend came walking down the aisle towards me. Her entrance reminded me of that day we had talked about my mother's death. Only now the roles were reversed.

I was originally going to call this story 'Moccasins'. Why? Because of the old Native American proverb - Never judge another man until you have walked a mile in their moccasins. We don't really know what someone else is going through until we actually go through the same thing for ourselves.

The compassion we have for others comes from the heart. Some hearts are small. Others, like my friend's heart, have ample amounts of love to give - the abundance of the heart.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 5For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows." - 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

Christmas Has Changed

All is quiet now. Christmas has come and gone. Scrolling through pictures of everyone's Christmas celebrations, I wonder, "what has happened to Christmas?"

Everyone looks so happy in their Facebook pictures. Unwrapping presents, eating Christmas cookies, and watching "Christmas" movies. Is that what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown? It almost seems like the true meaning of Christmas has been forgotten.

Jesus makes an appearance once in a while, but the majority of our "Christmas" pictures seem to be about ourselves. Just like any other day of the year, but on steroids.

I have nothing against these family pictures whatsoever or documenting anyone's family fun. I'm all for those things actually. We should do MORE of it. But what do all of these moments and pictures have to do with Christ's birth, other than that they happened on or about December 25th?

Christmas, and Thanksgiving too, have just become reasons to get together and celebrate family. Again, there's nothing wrong with family time, but these holidays were designed for celebrating Christ's birth and for giving thanks to God. Our knowledge about God, and why we celebrate, and HOW we celebrate, has changed.

We might say we believe in God, but we also tell our kids the same thing about Santa and the tooth fairy. There is a disconnect here.

We tell our children not to lie but then we turn right around and lie to them. Kids are smart. Their parent's lying plants seeds in the minds of the young.

The Bible says that God hates a lying tongue.

“There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.” - Proverbs 6:16-19

Lying makes the list TWICE! If we truly knew God, why would we ever lie? Forgetting Christ and Christmas is also a lie.

We can know OF God, but we don't really KNOW Him. If we actually KNEW God, would our Facebook pictures and posts look totally different? And why do we need special holidays to give thanks and celebrate Christ's birth? Shouldn't that be an EVRERYDAY thing?

“’These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." - Matthew 15:8

Have you ever watched The Nativity Story movie? It's not about Christmas as we think of it today. The movie is about the actual birth of Christ. But really, it is about the struggle we humans have to find a place for Him in our lives . . . and to have Him born . . . in us.

If we profess a faith in Christ, shouldn't our Christmas celebrations reflect that belief?

How can we honor God more at Christmas? Attend a Christmas Eve or a Christmas day church service. Give gifts, not to ourselves, or to others, but to God. Those are good, but what about the way we live our lives. Every day. Isn't that what God truly wants from us?

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ - Matthew 12:30-32

Basically, God wants US. He wants us all and He wants our all. He wants our "everything."

Here is an ominous verse for all who think everything is fine just the way it is. I'll leave it here in the King James version. Read it and pray for God's return to our Christmas celebrations. And to our everyday lives.

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. - Hosea 4:6

Christmas is a wonderful thing to celebrate, as long as we remember WHY we celebrate.

Be Born In Me - Francesca Battistelli

The Story of Migdal Eder

700 years before Jesus was born, the prophet Michah wrote these words:

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” - Micah 5:2

This was the promise of The Messiah that would come, saying that He would be born in Bethlehem. Bethlehem is located just 1,000 paces south of Jerusalem. Also, Bethlehem is the place where the sacrificial lambs were raised for the temple sacrifices in Jerusalem. The sacrifices were used to take away the sins of the people. Remember these words from John the Baptist, when he saw Jesus coming?

"The next day he (John The Baptist) saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" - John 1:29

Let’s go back to the Book of Micah.

"And you, O tower of the flock, hill of the daughter of Zion, to you shall it come, the former dominion shall come, kingship for the daughter of Jerusalem." - Micah 4:8

The Hebrew words Migdal Eder translate to “watch tower of the flock”. The shepherds used the old abandoned military watch tower to “keep watch over their flocks by night” (Luke 2:8).

It gets even more interesting. The bottom of the watch tower was used for birthing lambs. Because the lambs were to be used for sacrifice, the shepherds had to take special precautions to keep them spotless. The shepherds (are you ready for this?) wrapped the spotless lambs in swaddling cloth.

Was the basement of Migdal Eder also the birthplace of Jesus? The Bible doesn’t really say that, straight out, but it sure makes sense. It does say that Jesus was born in a manger (Luke 2:7) and there were mangers at Migdal Eder . . . in the basement . . . where the special shepherds were, keeping watch over their sacrificial lambs.

You know, all of this stuff is really cool to me. The more I study the Bible and dig into its rich content like this, it just literally comes to life for me. But the really important thing to remember, whether you are a Bible geek like me of just prefer to keep things simple, Jesus was born a human. He was born, to die. A sacrificial lamb.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will - 6to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment - to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ." - Ephesians 1:3-10

Merry Christmas. May God bless you during this advent season as we celebrate His birth and await His second advent – His glorious return. Amen.

The Invisible Trap

The thing about traps is that we don't expect them, we simply can't see them, or we just can't understand how they could possibly even BE a trap. That's what makes a trap, a trap. Everything LOOKS safe. It looks innocent. What could possibly go wrong . . . right? SNAP!

We have mice that get into our house every now and then. I set traps, baited with peanut butter or some cheese. It doesn't take long. That's because the mouse is more interested in the bait than it is in the workings of the trap.

My wife and I went to a high school jazz concert the other night. We walked in as they were setting up the stage. We were supposed to meet a friend there, but they never showed up. We were even given a program that said, "Christmas Jazz Concert" on it. And we were seated at a table just like they were expecting us. That's because they were. It was a trap!!

And what was the trap? The trap was of our own doing. In our own beliefs. My wife and I had walked into the wrong school. They just happened to also have a jazz Christmas concert going on at the same time, on the same night. No wonder our friend wasn't there!

Why did we go to the wrong school? Lack of information on my part. All of the information was there. I just never read it. I had made an assumption, and my assumption was wrong.

The Gospel of Jesus, the Messiah, is NOT a trap. It is the truth. But there are other religions and false gospels out there. People are believing in them as if they are fact. They are traps - invisible traps for unsuspecting.

Other religions can sound good. They can relax us and make us feel comfortable. They can even make us feel safe and secure. SNAP!

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." - John 14:6

For those who want to avoid getting caught in the trap of false doctrine and false religions, there is an easy way to do that. Educate yourself on the workings of "the trap." Dig into each belief. Compare them to the teachings of The Bible. Read! Understand! Retain!

Mormonism is false. Scientology is false. Buddhism is false. Hinduism is false. How do I know that these other religions are false? I compared their teachings to that of The Bible. And how do I KNOW that the Bible is the absolute truth?

The Bible was dictated by God (who cannot lie) through His prophets. God's Holy Spirit spoke to the writers of the New Testament through people who witnessed the risen Christ (Jesus) personally and were given revelation by God Himself. The same God who raised the dead, parted the Red Sea and fathered the only sinless man (Jesus) through a virgin. And told us that it would happen hundreds of years beforehand.

But the final piece of evidence in my life that the God of The Bible is who He says He is, is this: He changed ME. He changed who I was, into who I am today, all in the twinkling of an eye.

We should not fall for the trap of comfort in our faith. Our faith should be living and active. Not comfortable. Jesus said, "In this life you will have trouble," not comfort.

There is no arguing with the truth. There are no "versions" of the truth. There is only ONE truth. We can either accept it or deny it. It's up to us to test everything that comes at us in this world. Only the Truth (capital T) will set us free.

“Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." - John 8: 34-36

Christmas Tears

Do you have a Christmas song that gets you all choked up inside? All TRUE Christmas songs should do that.

A friend of mine and I were talking about this topic after church yesterday. For him it's The Little Drummer Boy. The little boy in the song had nothing to give baby Jesus so he gave the only thing he had - a drum solo. He gave God the very gift that God had given him. A talent to play.

For me it's What Child Is This? Not so much the verses of the song, but when we sing "This, this is Christ The King" my eyes get all watery. 

Any Christmas song can makes us sad if it is associated with someone who is no longer in our lives. Or perhaps some other sad even associated with Christmas. But tears of joy are something else entirely.

What is YOUR favorite Christmas song? And why? Don't look now but if your favorite Christmas song makes you shed tears of joy that God came to earth as a man to die for our sins, you might just be . . . a Christian.

"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." - Isaiah 7:14

What Child Is This?  - The Petersons

The Little Drummer Boy - Carrie Underwood & Isaiah

Gently Weeping

It's funny how certain events can join together to form a single cohesive thought or message. That happened the other night as I was watching a few YouTube videos.

The first video was of Keanu Reeves and Carrie Ann Moss. They were being interviewed about their soon-to-be-released movie - Matrix Resurrections.

Keanu was excitedly talking about alternative realities featured in The Matrix movies. There are actually lots of people living in "alternative realities" in the world right now.

Democrats, Republicans, various religious denominations and religious belief systems. Even individual humans can live in a different reality through Alzheimers or dementia.

The next video I watched was of the late George Harrison (the former Beatle) performing "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" with Eric Clapton.

You might wonder how those two videos could possibly be related. Until you come to the line in the song that goes, "Look at you all, see the love there that's sleeping."

As God sits on His thrown, looking down at us and our alternative realities, couldn't you almost hear Him saying, "Look at you all. You think you are awake but you are really sleeping. How quickly you turn away from worshipping me. You have forgotten your first love. I see the love in you. It is sleeping. Lulled to sleep by "the world". Wake up! The world has become your reality. You are not of this world! Wake up! Your redemption is near and you are sleeping!!"

"When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near" - Luke 21:28

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." - Romans 12:2

"You have forsaken the love you had at first" - Revelation 2:4

There are many people, sleeping their lives away in this world. They worship gods that cannot heal or save. They worship the gods that they themselves have created. Idol worshippers. This is not good!

But there is always hope, in God. He always provides a means of escape for His remnant. WE are that remnant. Let's live like it.

"The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous And His ears are open to their cry." - Psalm 34:15

It's not too late for us to repent, but soon it will be.

"Examine yourselves."

"Look at the world and notice it's turning. While my guitar gently weeps. With every mistake we must surely be learning. While my guitar gently weeps." - George Harrison, While My Guitar Gently Weeps

The Curse of Jeconiah

In the first chapter of Matthew, we can read about the genealogy of Jesus, The Messiah. This written lineage goes all the way back to Adam and concludes with Joseph. There's only one problem. Verse 12 of Jeremiah, and The Curse of Jeconiah.

Jeconiah, or Jehoiachin, was the last king of Judah to sit on the thrown before Israel was carried away to Babylon. There was never another king after him.

God cursed Jeconiah in the 22nd chapter of the Book of Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "none will sit on the throne of David or rule anymore in Judah.” (Jeremiah 22:30). How can that be? JESUS is one of his descendants!

Although Jesus was listed in the genealogy of Jeconiah, Joseph was not the father of Jesus. The Holy Spirit was. The royal blood line came through Mary. Mary was a descendant of David. You can see Mary's genealogy in the Book of Luke.

It's amazing that, no matter how many times people question God's Word, God always has proven Himself true. Trust in the Lord!

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." - Proverbs 3:5-4

The world is filled with people who doubt God, who think the world is really billions and billions of years old. They tell their children that Santa Claus is real. The Tooth Fairy exists and that they're going to heaven because "that's where EVERYONE goes when they die."

Later on, our kids find out that both Santa and the Tooth Fairy and fake news. And they also find out that Mommy and Daddy are liars. And that it's okay to lie as long as our motives were right. No!

The curse of Jeconiah was proven true through May's family tree just as the curse of Adam (sin) has been proven through our family trees.

We have a choice to make. We can keep on living like Jeconiah or we can repent of our sins and live like Jesus. It's a simple choice yet it has proven so difficult for so many. Make the choice today to follow Jesus. Read the Bible. Live your faith out beginning today. Otherwise, we are living a lie if we don't.

Nothing Else Matters

Nothing catches your attention like a little Metallica at your granddaughter's first dance recital but that's exactly what happened yesterday.

My wife and I were sitting there watching all these little girls dancing around, and then I was hearing . . . Metallica? Nothing Else Matters. What?

So, now I've got these words on repeat, running through my brain.

"Nothing else matters, nothing else matters,"

That's when another young lady took the stage, and another song found its way into my already overloaded brain. This one was a Christian song whose catch phrase was "Light of The World." Great! Now I've got TWO songs bouncing around in my head! Or is it just ONE song?

The words of BOTH songs kept repeating over and over again. Next thing I knew the songs in my head blended into one.

The Light of The World - Nothing Else Matters.

Well, that's certainly true. I wonder if the lyrics might contain any more inspiration. From Metallica:

Trust I seek and I find in you

Every day for us something new

Open mind for a different view

And nothing else matters

Seeking someone to trust in this world can be a difficult task. There is only one place to place our trust and hope, and that's Jesus. The trust I seek I find in You, Lord.

"I will say to the LORD, "You are my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." - Psalm 91:2

The worldview most people have these days does not contain God. It is a secular world view. But if we open our minds to a different view - a Biblical worldview - then we can find it truly is the only view that makes any sense. Nothing else matters. Then the next song from Lauren Daigle:

The world waits for a miracle

The heart longs for a little bit of hope

Oh come, oh come, Emmanuel

This is a time of miracles alright. A baby born in a manger, He came to save the world. A virgin birth, God coming to earth as a man, miracle after miracle for us to see and still so many do not believe.

"Even after Jesus had performed so many signs and miracles in their presence, they still would not believe in him. 38This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:

“Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” 39For this reason they could not believe." - John 12:37-39

The message I received in these two songs is a perfect one, especially during this time of year.

The Light of The World (Jesus) is worthy of our trust. He never lies, He has promised to never leave us or forsake us. Won't you let Him perform a miracle in your heart? Let Him give you the hope that you seek. Considering the world we live in today, could placing our trust in Jesus cure the sad feelings in our hearts? Pray this prayer with me:

Heavenly Father, I am so sick of this world. I place my trust in You, and You alone. I pray that You Lord would perform a miracle in me. Change my heart. This world holds nothing for me anymore. You are the Light of the world! I place my trust in You and You alone. Lord, nothing else matters . . . but You. Amen.

Nothing Else Matters - Metallica

Light of The World - Lauren Daigle

Look Up!

Before weather radar was a thing we relied on 'signs in the sky' for our weather forecasting. 'Red sky at night, sailor's delight.' Remember that one?

Our modern weather radar is pretty good, but it can still get things wrong. Yesterday, for example, my phone's weather app said it was snowing where we live yet, when we looked outside, there wasn't a snowflake to be seen.

A popular weatherman in our area once said that before he went on the air with his computer-generated weather projections, he always stuck his head out the back door and looked at the sky. Smart man.

“And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption is drawing near.” - Luke 21:28

The Bible talks about things that will happen in the future. It's called 'prophesy.' Jesus said this:

"You fools! You know how to interpret the weather signs of the earth and sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the present times." - Luke 12:56

Weather forecasts can be useful for preparing us for the day. What we will wear and what we will do often depend on the weather. But to be properly prepared we have to heed the tornado warnings and blizzard warnings. Our beliefs about the weather forecast affects our actions.

The same if true for God's prophetic words. If we don't listen to them, what good are they doing us?

Does your church teach out of the Book of Revelation? Daniel? Matthew 24? If it doesn't, how will you be prepared for the storm that is coming? You might as well wear shorts and flip-flops to church this winter then. Acceptable in Florida perhaps, but not in Wisconsin!

Bible prophecy is there for a reason. The Book of Revelation is the only book where God says that He will bless its readers.

"Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near." - Revelation 1:3

Be blessed today! Read it and heed it.

The Humble Servant

 

Yesterday was an interesting day. I didn't realize that I had signed up for a life lesson in humility but that's what I received. And I am grateful for receiving it.

My wife and I drove down to Milwaukee yesterday to visit her father. He is nearing the end of his life and is in hospice.

He woke up and looked at us both as we arrived but then returned to sleeping. Then a CNA came in with his lunch and my humility lesson got underway.

This woman caringly fed my father-in-law while at the same time reassuring my wife about how well he was doing during this transition time. A spoon full of chicken casserole, a spoon full of water, a wiping of the lips. How gentle she was. How caring.

My wife left the room to fill the bird feeder outside his window, not that he would ever see it, but the birds would appreciate the effort. I took the opportunity to pray for my father-in-law. And upon my wife's return, I read him the Christmas story from Luke 2. That was all good.

As we drove back home, we remarked how wonderful the CNA was to my wife's father. Even commenting that she was an angel. We didn't even catch her name.

Arriving in Appleton, we stopped at a store so my wife could pick up a book she ordered. Pulling into the store's driveway we noticed a man seated on the sidewalk and leaning up against the building. He had just fallen on the slippery sidewalk and was waiting for help to arrive.

Perhaps inspired by the CNA we had witnessed earlier in the day, I went over to the stranger and asked if I could pray for him. He said 'yes' and so I did. When I opened my eyes the EMT crew was there. I backed away and left them to their work.

It was a good day.

Am I always open to, and observant of, opportunities to pray for someone or to serve someone? It was nine degrees that day. Would I have so easily offered prayer on a "normal" day, without the example of the caring CNA to follow?

It seems to me that we should ALWAYS be prepared to serve and to pray for those who are in need. Jesus is our example. Shouldn't we be following His example if we are "followers" of Christ? Are we followers only on SOME days when we feel like it?

"Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - 28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” - Matthew 20:26-28

This is the season for miracles. We must keep our eyes open for opportunities to love and to serve, in humility and with compassion. We must reflect God's love for us by loving others. That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.

Slippery Roads

We got a couple inches of snow over the weekend. Living out in the country where we do it's always hard to navigate on weekends until it gets closer to Monday (a school day). The snowplows don't come through until they have to, for the school bus.

The highway into town is usually pretty good. But getting TO the highway is the problem for us, more often than not.

We never know when that icy patch or snow drift crossing the road will pop up and pull us into the ditch. It's best to take it a little slower during the winter months to where you will have time to react to whatever is on front of you.

Our faith can be like a slippery road on a dark night. if we let it. When our headlights go dim and we don't keep our eyes on the road. Boom! We're in the ditch - sin.

Having a strong faith is like having a snowplow. They have plenty of lights to see where they are going. They have a big blade to push sin out of the way (The Holy Spirit). But most importantly, they have lots of power (God). When was the last time you saw a snowplow that got stuck in the snow?

Navigating a typical snowstorm is not that difficult to do. The big ones however can cause us lots of trouble. The same with our faith. Getting through day-to-day things in our faith is easier than slogging through a blizzard.

Be safe out there!!

And should you ever get spiritually stuck in life's trials, call on Jesus, or call on a friend. Sin is a giant snowbank, just waiting for you to stop by for a visit.

"You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance." - Psalm 32:7

The Anchor

Have you ever been on a ship in a storm? If you have, hopefully it was nothing like what's going on in this picture. Storms can get quite nasty at times.

We can go through storms in our personal lives. They can be just as deadly as a storm in the middle of the ocean.

If only there was some way to safely navigate life's storms. Well, there is actually. His name is Jesus.

"A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” - Mark 4:37-40

Very interesting. Jesus was so calm during the storm that He was sleeping. Everyone else was panicking. They were actually safe in the boat with Jesus. But they didn't trust in who Jesus was. Jesus calmed the storm!

The key to having Jesus calm the storms in your life is two-fold. First, you have to be IN THE BOAT! We have to be IN CHRIST. That brings us to the second point. Our faith has to be IN JESUS too. Not in technology, not in any man-made thing. IN CHRIST!

When ships are in danger of running aground or crashing against the rock, they throw out an anchor. The anchor keeps them in one place and steadies the boat amidst the waves.

"Come steady me, steady me now."

Anchor - Skillet

The Wilderness

When I was younger the word 'wilderness' had a wonderful connotation - rugged, untouched places, with bald eagles and whitewater canoe trails through the north woods of Wisconsin.

After reading the Bible a few times and watching the Ten Commandments movie, the word 'wilderness' has a much bleaker meaning.

The wilderness of The Bible is synonymous with a period or trial or time of testing.

God made His people wander through the desert wilderness for 40 years until an entire generation had passed away. Only then did God allow His people to enter into His rest - The Promised Land.

Have you undergone a period of testing in YOUR life? A wilderness of the soul? It can be a very trying time. But what are we to learn from our trials . . . our time in the wilderness?

I was talking with a friend he other day about his Thanksgiving. He told me that who they were seated at the table each one took turns telling the others what they were thankful for. My friend's son said that he was thankful for the difficult time his family experienced this year. Why?

He was thankful because the hard times brought his family closer to one another. Their time of testing made them stronger.

Are YOU thankful for times spent in the Biblical wilderness? Do we lean on God when times get tough? If we fully trust in God, we will have fewer trials to go through. And the trials we DO experience won't seem nearly as bad . . . if we trust on The Lord.

"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” - Matthew 4:1-4