More Staff Needed

MORE "STAFF" NEEDED

Last night I saw on the news soldiers coming home. They were filmed at the airport greeting their wives and children. It was quite an emotional scene. These were not green recruits, but now seasoned soldiers who had participated in warfare.

Green recruits. That’s what many of us are. Every Christian has been through some kind of “warfare” of faith and trust in the Lord, but are we seasoned enough and sufficiently knowledgeable of the Word that we could instruct others? If we are looking to our pastors or leaders to disciple others and are not trained or active in the process, we are pretty much “on the bench”.

Recently I had this dream:

I was standing in the hallway of a large suite of doctor’s offices. There were people everywhere and more were coming in. I saw a doctor kind of forced out of his office door by the large number of people waiting in his office. He sat at a table in the hallway and was bent over his charts, writing on them. Then a door opened on my right and I could see numbers of people in that room, waiting for some one to help them. It was very obvious that there was not enough staff to care for this sudden influx of people. It was a crisis situation. The doctor was not calling for help. He was simply trying to keep up with his charts.

At first I thought this was about the H1N1 virus, but them realized that the dream was symbolic of something else: a coming potential crisis in the Church because there is coming a harvest of new converts, but not enough mature Christians who were trained to care for them. Leaders must “look up” from their “charts” (current “patients”) and see that many need to be trained. He must be a discipler and trainer of “staff” to take care of the influx. This is an alert from God.

What do you think?

Angels--for Today

Angels--for Today

My angelic visitation

Angels are involved in my life and your life all of the time. Sometimes we are aware of their involvement, and sometimes we are not. But, we should expect angelic activity in our lives. That doesn’t mean we should seek them out or make weird efforts to contact them. As Daniel addressed God in his prayers, and not the archangels, so we should do likewise.

A few years ago when a number of distressing incidents had recently taken place in my life, my 30-year-old furnace decided to go on the fritz. I had attempted to start it for the first time that winter, and it was balking. My reaction? Blood-vessel-popping anger. Later, on reflection, I believed my anger was a “holy” kind of anger inspired by the Spirit of God. I grabbed a chair and set it in front of the door to the furnace area. I plunked down on it, began to pray, and was totally determined not to move from there until God had done something about the furnace problem! I was very serious. Within a few minutes a word came strongly into my mind: “Firefox”. In the next moment I almost jumped off the chair because I was suddenly aware of a “being” on my left side standing next to me. I didn’t see him with my natural eyes, but just knew that he was there. He emanated power and was as tall as the ceiling. The furnace promptly began to work properly.

As I processed all of this, I decided to go to my computer and Google “Firefox”. I learned two things from my search: there is a web browser named Firefox, and also a movie by that name. Clint Eastwood who starred in the movie was sent by the U.S. military to Russia to steal their secret plane that could fly undetected by radar and also could be controlled by the pilot’s thoughts (in Russian) with the aid of a special helmet. Since Eastwood was an experienced jet pilot and was fluent in Russian he was chosen for the job. Most of the film is about his efforts to get to the plane and then, finally, to steal it.

Guess what movie played on my TV the very next day? You got it: “Firefox.

Firefox, I believe, is the name of the angel who came to help me. His job was to steal the enemy’s weapons and undo what he had attempted to do to my furnace.

By the way, the furnace is still working.

Share your angelic experiences in the comments

Another Reason

Although Thanksgiving 2009 is history and we are rushing toward Christmas , I discovered yet another reason to be thankful . Background: I was born and raised in Yankee Land (I got here as fast as I could!), and was used to spectacular autumns with golden and red leaf displays that lit up the hills and valleys . Every year I get kind of misty during the Fall season. Sometimes we do have a scattering of colorful trees here in Texas, and it was on one such Fall day that I experienced a God-sent reminder of His wonder and love.

“Glum” is the word that best described my mood that day. I didn’t feel good physically, and mentally I was gloomy. Since it was garbage day, I wrapped my old chenille robe around me and proceeded to take out the garbage for collection. I walked down the steps by the side of the house, took the garbage to the curb, and then walked back up the steps and into the house without glancing in any direction. I then went into the den to check my emails. Within a minute or two at the computer I began to notice an unusual golden glow in the room. What in the world was causing such a glow? I went to the double window which faced the steps where I had just taken out the garbage and opened wide the mini-blinds. There, virtually staring at me, was my crepe myrtle tree completely covered with brilliant yellow leaves. They were so bright, in fact, that the reflection from the sunshine had actually caused my den to light up!

Suddenly, my gloom was lifted. It was replaced with amazement and rejoicing at the beauty of the scene. I thanked my Lord for this reminder that His glory is all around me if I will just look for it. I had not even noticed the tree when I took out the garbage. I was too busy looking down at the ground and too focussed on my glum mood to even see the glory that was there within a few feet of where I was walking. How, I thought, could I have walked by that glorious tree twice without even seeing it! This beautiful golden tree was God’s way of reminding me of the need to “look up” at His greater reality rather than looking downward and concentrating on my problems or circumstances. Hurray for God, His glory and His great Kingdom plan.

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Psalm 19:1

A Trip to the Woodshed

Whew! Nobody likes to go to the woodshed. Recently I felt a little like I have been in God's woodshed. As a kid I lived on a dairy farm with all the animals, etc. We had a woodshed, but I was never taken there for any "correction" purposes. In fact, I was spoiled by my mom as the baby of the family. My older sister (5 years) is quick to point this out to me. She said I lied terribly but mother always sided with me and never believed her. Part of the hindrance to any spankings taking place was that I had a bone disease and was periodically casted around my waist and down the left leg to the knee. Obviously this precluded spankings.

I don't recall being "spoiled" but don't doubt that I was. In later years, after being born again, I understood the consequences that spoiled children must bear. Overbearing self-will and self-centeredness are two such consequences. Parents: please don't spoil your children. Of course there are right and wrong ways to discipline.

The writer of Hebrews stated that, as parents, we tend often to discipline because we are irritated, not necessarily for the child's good. Not so with our Father. It's hard to accept, but He does this because of His love, not to punish or to vent anger. Let's be open to His correction and re-direction. He is far better than a GPS. And far more accurate, as well.

"If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten...For they [human fathers] indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness..." (Hebrews 12:3-13)

The REAL Future for us Seniors

The REAL Future for Us Senior Citizens

What is the best thing about aging, i.e. getting old? Why the Future, of course! I don’t know how people face the future—or the present—without a relationship with our Lord and Savior. Many Christians find the Bible boring or too difficult to understand. However, if they applied the same effort to studying it as they did to getting their college degree, or perhaps learning a vocation or skill, they would discover that what was confusing has been turned into food for their souls, kind of like the miracle of the water into wine that Jesus performed. They would also get glimpses of the wonderful future which awaits them.

At times my body—which in turn affects my thinking—sits and stares and comments about any proposed work project “There ain’t no way!” Actually this isn’t just about “work projects”, but also, occasionally, about any activity whatsoever. Various disease processes interfere with life. Add this to the knowledge (and this is not morbidity at all) that I know that I have only X number of years left on this earth…..

But, what a future I look forward to! I have travelled out of the U.S. a few times, including to Russia on a mission trip, to South Africa to visit my son who was a missionary there. The anticipation of these adventures was very high. What new sites and sounds awaited me. Opportunities to meet new people in totally different cultures and environments. I went to South Africa in November. It was spring there! How beautiful. In Russia we visited orphanages, some in dire need of medical help we hoped to help provide. Then we went to the Kremlin and later picnicked in the Russian woods. Add to that the fellowship with Christians on the other side of the world! Such adventures!

Far greater adventures await me in my Future. The greatest, of course, will be to meet my Savior, Jesus. But, think of the vistas to view, and what a culture! And, fellowship…?! Also, it is my personal belief that there will be many opportunities to share our testimony with others as we help them grow in this new place and they help us to advance, also. Think of the mysteries and knowledge that will be unfolded. Think of the possibilities of participating in other creative projects as well as viewing God’s past projects. I’m quite sure that I will find the library and then a garden to sit in and spend eternity catching up on my reading!

“For the light affliction which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal”. 1 Corinthians 4:18

What happens if we pray the wrong prayer?

Recently I was hospitalized. My friends asked my church to pray, which they did. I ended up spending only 3 nights in the hospital. But beginning the first night God sent someone to me, a tech, who was intensely spiritually hungry. In fact, I have rarely seen anyone that obviously hungry. She stayed in the room 20-30 minutes and kept me talking about the Word and spiritual matters. After I came home there were other opportunities to minister to others, especially on the phone. I couldn't believe the words that were coming out of my mouth. I wanted to thank everyone who prayed for me as well as letting you know the results. The account below tells about the first time I learned about "What happens if we pray the wrong prayer". Enjoy!

Salt Lake City was the latest "port" for the travelling Darrell family. My husband, Pat, went out each day and sold his products to support the family. Thus we were not limited from ministering in small churches. Salt Lake City, however, was certainly a challenge spiritually. But, then God answered the wrong prayers that people were praying for us!

Doing laundry is a part of life regardless of where or who you are. So, I went up to the laundromat at the KOA campground where we had parked our 32 foot trailer. To my amazement, one after the other, several women came up and spoke to me. Their faces and demeanor betrayed a great spiritual hunger. I was able to minister in some way to all who spoke to me. (These were Mormon women who were in Salt Lake to research their ancestors so that they could be baptized for them.) Puzzled, I wondered if all of these opening resulted from some recent increase in prayer on my part. Why this sudden rush of opportunities to share Jesus? That day, when my husband had finished his day he shared with me that he had stopped at a church and chatted with the pastor who then invited us to come and minister for a three-day weekend. And what a blessing those meetings were. What was happening?

We moved on from Salt Lake to the next stop on our itinerary and found mail waiting for us at the general post office. My sister handled our mail and would forward it according to our scheduled. She included was a letter from from her. Whe sounded greatly distressed and frightened about our well-being. It seems my brother in Seattle had received a phone call in the middle of the night from a crying women. He thought she said that she was "Mary" but he could never understand exactly what she was saying. Scared, he tried calling the police but they only asked him if he had a girlfriend named Mary! My sister had called her church which had--and still has--a 24/7 live prayer ministry going on. They began to pray in earnest for our safety asking God to protect us and turn around whatever terrible thing had happened.

We made some phone calls (no cell phones or personal computers in those days). After everyone was reassured that we were fine, we were left pondering about the whole matter. Finally, the "light" went on and we realized what had happened. God had taken all those prayers for our "protection" and safety into great open doors and freedom to minister to people for Him!! What a lesson this has been to me over the years. God knows whatever the need is and as people pray, even if it isn't exactly the "right" prayer it produces a surge of power and energy resulting in life.

Until next time... I hope to blog at least twice a month. Maybe more