Press On

Those two little words came to my mind today.
I think about Zacchaeus who pressed through
the crowd and climbed a tree so that he might
see Jesus... The woman who pressed through
the crowd to touch the hem of His garment...
The four men who didn't give up when there
was no other way but took their sick friend
down through the roof to reach Jesus......
Blind Bartimaeus who kept on calling upon
the name of Jesus even though when many told
him to be quiet....Paul said, "I press toward
the mark of the prize of the high calling of
God in Christ Jesus"'

God is calling each of us to press on in our
walk with Him. He knows all about your
circumstances..your broken heart, your fears,
your loved ones, your weakness, your health ....
May you press on in faith until you know
beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have
touched Jesus and that He has touched you.

THE QUESTION

Do I want to glorify the Name of Jesus?
Will God be glorified in my life?
In life or in death,
In sickness or in health,
In abundance or abasement,
In strength or in in weakness,
In joy or in sorrow,
In times of peace or in turmoil,
In gain or in in loss,
In all these things, it is my prayer
that God will be glorified in my life

A RESTFUL AND RELAXING DAY

After traveling six days in a row it was so good to be
settled for a time...not having to drive somewhere
to be at a certain place at a certain time....
feeling right at home...to be able to unpack
our suitcases and even a closet to hang up
our clothes.
We were staying with my husband's brother
and sister-in-law. It was a beautiful day in
Minnesota with the temperature of 83 degrees
and a slight breeze blowing. The sky was
deep blue with small fluffy clouds

I walked down the driveway to the mail box
and back. As I came back into the yard I
noticed several large trees in the yard. One
maple tree was especially tall ..about 60 feet and
spread its branches in a magnificant way for
about 40 feet wide. It was like a huge umbrella
of shade. While standing by the trunk I could
barely see the sky through the massive
network of smaller branches and leaves.

I am reminded of how my heavenly Father
invites me to find shelter "under His Wings".
What a restful and relaxing place that is...
When traveling through this life we find
many times a refreshing place in His
presence. Jesus invites us to rest in Him
and not to fret because of all that is evll
in this world.

Psalm 37:7 Rest in the Lord and wait
patiently for him: fret not thyself....
because of the man who brings wicked
devices to pass.

Psalm 91:1,4
He that dwells in the secret place of
the most High shall abide under the
shadow of the Almighty..He shall
cover you with his feathers, and under
His wings shall you trust.

Which Way Will You Chose?

On our way home from Wisconsin, my husband and
I decided to drive on some state highways
instead of the busy Interstate highways.As we
headed westward across southern Minnesota,
then southwest across a corner of Iowa into
Nebraska our goal was to take Highway 75 all
the way south through Nebraska, through
Kansas and reach Bartlesville, Oklahoma by
the next evening .

Just south of Sioux City, Iowa, highways 75 and 77
merged together for a short time and then
separated. My husband was driving and I was
navigating with the atlas.We were thoroughly
enjoying the scenery. I would tell which way
to go- right or left. We stayed all night
at Fremont, Nebraska. It wasn't until the next
morning when I looked at the atlas, I realized
we had taken highway 77 instead of 75 when
they forked off.

We were a long ways farther west then we intended
to be and as a result we were unable to reach
Bartlesville early enough to visit the Voice of
the Martyrs office which I had looked forward to
doing. Because my friend would not be in the office
in the morning we drove farther into Oklahoma to
stay overnight. Then we would not have so far to
get home the next evening.

The wrong turn cost us more time, more gas and not
being able to have a time of felllowship which we
had looked forward to with our friend who we had
not seen for a long time. Taking the wrong turn in
life is much more costly. Jesus talks about two
ways-the narrow road which leads to life and the
broad road which leads to destruction. The Bible
is our "atlas". The Holy Spirit is our guide.
Jesus made the Way - HE IS THE WAY. Trust Him
today and He will keep you on the right way.

The words of a little chorus sum it all up:

I met Jesus at the crossroads,
where the two ways meet.
Satan, too, was standing there
and he said , "Come this way
lots and lots of pleasures I have for you today".

But I said, "No, there's Jesus here,
See what He offers you - down here my sins
forgiven, Up there a home in heaven".
Praise God, that's the way for me.

WEAVING

When I was visiting in the home of a friend in
Wisconsin, she was showing me the little rugs
that she had woven. The strands were tightly
woven together making the rug strong and
beautiful to look upon.

I was reading recently about the tabernacle
which God directed Moses to build. The veil
and the curtains were woven together of blue
purple and scarlet threads along with strands
of beaten gold. The blue reminds us of heaven,
the purple speaks of Jesus as our King, the
scarlet reminds of us the blood which Jesus
shed for our sins. The beaten gold reminds us
of the trials we go through.

God is wanting to bind His people together-
some from every nation, tribe and tongue-
He knows which people and which experiences
to put into our lives to bring about something
beautiful for His glory.

Walking Along the Creek

It is a beautiful, still morning with temperature about
62 degrees. I am walking this morning along the valley
road enjoying a slight breeze on my face. There is a
creek which winds back and forth through the valley
and is crossed over by several bridges.I come to the
first bridge. I stand for sometime looking intently
at the water which is quietly flowing and I notice
multiple sparkles as the sunlight beams upon the
water. I walk a little farther and come to the second bridge...at this point the water is flowing
more rapidly around large rocks. It gives a feeling
of hurriedness. I walk around the corner and just
at the bottom of the hill is another bridge. Here
there are two different scenes. As I look from one
side of the bridge the water is very still, so still
I can see the reflection of the bushes along side of
the creek. From the other side of the bridge the
water is bubbling nosily over the rocks.

As I ponder upon these scenes I remember the words,
"He leads me beside the still waters".
Sometimes we have to step from the still water into
rocky places. As we let the Son of God shine upon
our lives, the sparkle of His presence will be seen
whether we are in a place of quietness or going
through the rocky trials of life.

Note: This story actually was from my travels last month