Setting Your Course With Words

Setting The Course

By Harriett Ford

We define our lives and set our course with our words. It is a spiritual law that our words produce results (Mark 11:23-24).

We were created to have dominion and authority.

Look at the Tower of Babel. God said man could achieve anything his heart imagined, (Gen. 11:6) so how did God stop this first attempt at a one-world government? He confused their language.

Language gives us tremendous power (Prov. 18: 21) because our mouths can speak God's Truth, or they can speak Satan's lies which always begin with“Has God said?”

Look at The Great Deception of our modern age, the commonly accepted theory of evolution. When it comes to what we believe about how the world was formed, we have only two choices: Nothing formed everything or God did.

If a society believes nothing created the world, then they have no moral accountability. The moral breakdown of our society is quite evident today. Jesus said people who deny the Father are children of the devil (Jn 8:44). They talk, walk, and act accordingly.

Those who serve God have His very words to talk, walk, and act on. We can speak blessing or cursing over ourselves every day. I can say, “This task is something I'll never get done; I'm just too tired.” Or I can say, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

What kind of harvest do I wish to have? I will say like King David, “Father because I set my love on You, You shall be with me in trouble and deliver me. With long life will you satisfy me and show me your salvation” (Psalm 91: 14-16). Amen.

Harriett Ford is a board member of the Awesome Kingdom Experience ministry, in Branson, Mo.

COMMENTS ON AMERICA'S MORAL DECLINE attributed to Rev. Billy Graham

Since the 19^th century and the widespread acceptance of the evolutionary theory (which means ultimately that Nothing created Everything) we have seen our school children taught that there is no moral accountability since there is no God. We only have societal norms, and these change according to whoever is in power (godless Obama).

We know God's Word says, 'woe to to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our moral standards. We have banished prayer from school and called it freedom from imposing religion. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. We have legislated approval of some relationships, which Your Word calls an abomination, and called it tolerance. We have reinterpreted, redefined, and even removed parts of your word and called it love and equanimity.

Forgive our nation for setting ourselves above Your Word in order determine our own godless course.

Search us, Oh, God, today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.

Amen!

Why Should You Think It Strange When God Intervenes Supernaturally? Acts 26: 8

As a believer, I have never raised a dead person, but as a reporter, I have interviewed people who have. As believer, I have never glimpsed heaven, but I've interviewed two people who have been there in the spirit. I have interviewed and documented (where possible) thirty-eight believers from around the world—evangelists, missionaries, doctors, award-winning authors, and "ordinary" believers.  I have collected their stories of God's life-changing supervention in their lives. 

As I pondered the many titles on Amazon which repeat the words miracle or God encounters, I asked the Lord for a different word that would describe their experiences. He dropped supervention into my head. Was that even in the dictionary? It is not in Webster's or a few others on my desk. However, I found it in the Oxford American Dictionary. “Supervention” is defined as an interruption or change from some condition or process—the perfect word for what God is doing in the lives of His people. Interrupting and redirecting their paths. Healing a condition. Changing the process.

You are about to read stories from people who have experienced a divine interruption in the direction of their lives. A supervention. Not every story has the hoped-for miraculous outcome. Some describe unexpected guidance, impossible peace in the midst of tragedy, or receiving Christ's empowerment to do something impossible.

Some readers will find their theology challenged. Most people base their belief on what they have experienced (or not experienced) throughout the years of their lives. Everyone can point to times when prayers went unanswered for healing or for other intervention. However, that should not cast doubt on the times when God does supervene to heal, to speak, or to rescue.

Some will shake their heads in outright skepticism. We ask the readers to base their faith, not in other people's experiences, but solely in the Word of God and to remember that He says all things are possible to them that believe.

It is our hope that each story is examined in the light of scripture. Is there biblical precedent? Does this glorify the Lord Jesus? Those are the questions I asked before including each of the following testimonies.

Readers, enjoy. Skeptics and doubters, open your minds.

Believers, praise God.

I am including one delightful story from the book on this Blog today. It is truly a faith-builder. 

Are Marriages Made in Heaven?

By Kevin Knight as told to H. L. Ford

Be ye not unequally yoked (2 Corinthians 6:14 KJV).

Are marriages really made in heaven?

Some people say they had a matchmaker from the opposite place. With one of every two marriages ending in divorce these days, it could be that many couples do have the wrong matchmaker.

A young man and woman who met in Canada have a rather amazing story to tell about their own Matchmaker. It's a story that every Cinderella and knight in shining armor dreams of when seeking a future husband or wife. Only there is no fairy godmother in this love story.

Speaking of knights, the young man whose last name is Knight (coincidentally), grew up in New Brunswick, Canada in a home that he describes as “not exactly Christian.”

At the age of fifteen, Kevin Knight attended an evangelistic crusade that changed his life. The message by John Wesley White drew him to the cross. On September 15, 1977, he gave his heart to Jesus. That date was to become quite significant in his life in more ways than one.

After graduation from high school, Kevin enrolled as a student at Bethany Bible College. During his second year, an attractive young woman arrived on campus. She immediately caught his eye.

From Corning, New York, Rhoda Whitaker had grown up in a godly home. Her mother was a woman of deep faith.

Both Kevin and Rhoda had been praying separately for the Lord to bring the “right person” into their lives. Kevin especially wanted confirmation, because of some family issues and insecurity he had experienced during his growing-up years.

The pair began spending time together. Soon Kevin realized he was falling in love. He was pleased when Rhoda's parents invited him to their New York State home for a visit during Christmas break. In January of 1984, Kevin and Rhoda drove to Corning together. On the way, Rhoda said something which Kevin will never forget. “My mother is very prophetic and she will know when she meets you if you are the one for me.”

Kevin later recalls, “I didn't know what 'prophetic' meant, and I didn't put much stock in those words at the time.” Still, the idea made him a little nervous, especially when Rhoda mentioned that every previous young man she had introduced to her mother received only a cordial comment, “Yes, he's a nice enough friend.”

Kevin was hoping for more than friendship with his lovely companion. They arrived and were greeted by Rhoda's father, Nathan, who welcomed Kevin warmly. Jane, her mother, sat quietly and just observed. As the evening progressed, Kevin and Rhoda's parents spent a couple of hours getting to know each other. He thought things went very well.

That night, he doesn't recall dreaming of wedding bells; however, the next morning as he walked into the room where Rhoda and her mother were sitting, he saw that they were looking through bridal books.

Now that might surprise any young man, especially if he had not yet even popped the all-important question.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! What's going on here?” he exclaimed.

Jane rose and said, “Wait right here, Kevin. I want to show you something.” She left the room and returned carrying a very worn, black Bible.

“This has been misplaced a long time. I just recently found it,” Jane said with a twinkle in her eye. She opened it and removed a piece of paper.

Then she told Kevin the following story: “In 1977 I had surgery, and while I was regaining my strength, I rested on the couch and prayed. I asked the Lord for a godly young man to be my daughter's future husband. The Lord answered me with very specific directions. He said I should cut a piece of paper into the shape of a large egg. I wrote down the words He gave to me at that time. Then I placed it in my Bible. This egg-shaped paper is a symbol of God's promise to me that something has been waiting to hatch.”

Jane handed the paper to Kevin. On it, he read a description of certain character traits—personal qualities that described him perfectly. He was astonished at how specific the words captured his very essence.

“I knew when I read them that I was the one the Lord had chosen for Rhoda,” Kevin smiles.

Rhoda also knew that Kevin was her “knight,” with or without shining armor.

The pair enjoyed a few days visiting with Rhoda's family before they returned to Canada. Then Kevin decided to visit Moncton Wesleyan Church in New Brunswick, the church where he had given his heart to the Lord. He found Forest McArthur, a lay person at the church, and asked out of curiosity, “Do you happen to have any idea of the date when I got saved?”

Mr. McArthur nodded, led him upstairs to a file cabinet, looked through some papers and pulled out a card. “Here you are. You were saved on September 15, 1977.”

Kevin stood there staring. It was a moment of undeniable confirmation. He had surrendered his heart to Jesus on the same day Jane's mother had been praying—the very date on which the Lord had instructed her to write on an egg-shaped piece of paper.

If Kevin had any shadow of doubt, it was erased at that moment.

The couple married and eventually settled near Branson, Missouri. They have three beautiful daughters and the Lord has brought a godly young man into each of their lives. “We always told them to make sure they marry God's best,” says Kevin. “Our own marriage has been great, and Rhoda and I love serving the Lord together. We want that same blessing for our daughters.”

I suspect that readers of this story may be asking for Jane Whitaker's phone number in order to call in a prayer request for a match made in heaven.

The actual number everyone needs, not only for a godly spouse, but for every matter of life, is found in Jeremiah 33:3. Paraphrased it says, Call unto me, and I will answer you and show you great things which you do not know.

That covers everything, including revealing the characteristics of a future godly mate.

About Kevin Knight: Kevin pastors Homestead Worship Center, 5200 State Highway J in Kirbyville, Missouri. He also is a sales representative for Branson Tri-Lakes News. Rhoda is a nurse assistant at Cox Hospital in Branson. 

Have You Ever Wondered about The Five Foolish Virgins?

How many would agree that this interpretation of this parable is correct? I've often wondered.

Published by Jerry Baysinger on 01 Aug 2014 at 11:31 am

THE TEN VIRGINS

The Lord Jesus spoke a parable about the kingdom of heaven and ten virgins. How does this parable relate to this particular time we are in? Let’s read what He said in Matthew 25:1-12:Mat 25:1  Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.Mat 25:2  And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.Mat 25:3  They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:Mat 25:4  But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.Mat 25:5  While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.Mat 25:6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.Mat 25:7  Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.Mat 25:8  And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.Mat 25:9  But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.Mat 25:10  And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.Mat 25:11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.Mat 25:12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

First thing we notice is that all ten were virgins; that is pure and undefiled, who were going forth to meet the bridegroom, that is symbolically Christ Jesus.  They took their lights, as the wedding was to take place at night.  It says five were wise and took oil for their lights, and five were foolish and took no extra oil, thinking they would not be waiting long for the bridegroom.  Many in the church think Christ Jesus is coming quickly, even before the tribulation, so they won’t be waiting long, nor having to endure anything.  Those represent the foolish virgins.  Keep in mind, these foolish virgins are pure and undefiled, just like the five wise virgins.  They are all beloved to the bridegroom, else they wouldn’t have been invited to the wedding.

Now, the five wise virgins took extra oil, knowing their wait may be long, and the oil their lamps held might not be enough.  In other words, they planned to wait and endure as long as necessary.  They waited quite a while until they all went to sleep.  But their lamps were still burning.  And at midnight a cry was made that the bridegroom was coming, and to go meet him.  And we see all ten awoke from their sleep and trimmed their lamps and the five foolish virgins realized it was later than they thought and their lamps had gone out.  Why?  They ran out of oil.

Having not prepared for the long wait, the five foolish virgins went to the five wise virgins and asked them to share their oil.  The oil represents the Holy Spirit and the anointing of God.  But don’t you know, if you haven’t prayed, if you haven’t studied, if you haven’t spent quality time with the LORD, and developed your relationship with Christ Jesus RIGHT NOW while you still have time, when He comes, you won’t have time then to “catch up”.  And you’ll be shut out of the Kingdom of God. And that’s exactly what happened to the five foolish virgins.  The wise ones refused to give up any of what they had carefully prepared and told them to go to them that sell and buy for themselves, that meaning, “we can no longer share our provision with you, if you neglected to prepare then, too bad, so sad.  You knew to prepare and didn’t, because you figured you could look to someone else to prepare for you, but it doesn’t work like that.”

You can’t get in the Kingdom of Heaven on someone else’s anointing or their relationship with Christ Jesus. Just because Grandpa or Grandma knew Jesus and loved Him and went to heaven doesn’t mean YOU will. What happened?  The five foolish virgins left to go get oil, or “anointing and the Holy Spirit”.  Well, they got it alright, for they were pure and undefiled, as you remember.  But they acted TOO LATE! They put off seeking God with all their heart for “another time when they had more time”.  You know how it is with everything in our lives that we need to do.  We always need to prioritize our time to make sure we get the necessary things done, right?  Well, the most important thing ANY of us have on our plate is our relationship with God: that is if you’re WISE.  But if not?  Well then God gets shoved down to the bottom of your priority list, and if there’s any time left that you don’t have something more important to do, like watching your favorite TV show, then you’ll spend time with God, maybe. You’re busy, right?

Well, by the time they got back, the five wise virgins had already gone in to the wedding, and the door was SHUT.  Still keeping in mind, all TEN virgins were invited to the wedding.  It was the bridegroom’s perfect will that all TEN be there, and He made provision for all ten to celebrate with Him.  But only FIVE were there at the appointed time of the BRIDEGROOM’S choosing.  The rest were off doing something else, and not where they should have been, when they should have been there. I liken it to being at the airport when your ship comes in.  Sooooo,  they banged on the door to gain entrance.  LORD, LORD, we’re ready now, open the door for us and let us in!  But the bridegroom answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

Is that what YOU want to hear?  There’s only one way to avoid that, and that is to seek the LORD NOW with all your heart so you are prepared, no matter how long you have to wait.  If you are wise, you will prepare yourself to endure the tribulation if necessary, and be determined you will be found in Christ Jesus, no matter how severe the world’s circumstances get or how long Jesus delays His coming.  Then, if it turns out He comes sooner and takes us out before the tribulation, fine. It’s better to prepare and not have to use it than to not prepare and do without.   But those who think they may not have to endure and have not spiritually and mentally prepared themselves to endure hardness, will not endure the hard times if Jesus delays His coming, and they will become disappointed and give up, thinking, “Why did God not deliver us from hardship?”, and be left standing outside the Kingdom of Heaven.

Keep in mind, they were all called, but they were not all chosen. God’s salvation is for “whosoever will”, and He made preparation so that ALL can be saved, but not all choose to prepare themselves for His coming.  I can’t prepare for you.  All I can do is WARN you, for that is my job. What you do with that warning is entirely YOUR responsibility.  If I don’t warn you, then if you are shut out of the Kingdom of God, your blood is on my hands and I will have to give account, for God has called me to be a watchman.  But I’m on the job, I’m warning you, so you can’t say, NOBODY TOLD ME TO PREPARE FOR THE COMING OF CHRIST JESUS.

Jesus loves you so very much and He wants you to be there at the wedding feast.  You’re invited.  He will open the door when it’s time.  When is that?  I don’t know, but I’m already at the door waiting.  I’m not taking any chances.  Your job is to be there when He opens that door.  He will only open it once.   I hope to see you there.  Take a lesson from the ten virgins.  Be wise, be prepared. Be one who gets in.

More Patchwork Proverbs to FAITH lift your day

                                

Help Lord. Why is it that my husband and I can irritate each other so at times? I think I need an anointing oil job before I start to screech.

As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another (Prov. 17:17) and sometimes the sparks just fly.

You said to love one another. What is Love, for goodness sake? 

It is giving. I so loved the world that I gave my only begotten son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.

I see. I can give without loving, but I cannot love without giving.

Lord, will you show me one thing I can do to bless my husband today?

Okay, leave him alone.

But Lord, You don't understand. Being unequally yoked is no laughing matter, especially when the yoke's on me. Will you please correct my husband when we're each pulling our cart in a different direction.

Let's start by changing you.

Me? What's wrong with me? I know You would be so impressed if You only listened to my prayers of dedication and adoration. . . Oh, I see. I'm not Your advisor. And I don't have to be in control when I know the ONE who is. But please, just remind my husband that it's not really him either, okay Lord?

Father, could You please assign angels with the names Goodness and Mercy to me today? 

First you get Patience and Endurance to perfect your faith. (James 1: 3-4).

(Is that why you instituted marriage?)

I'm so glad I married John! What a journey we have shared. We're actually pulling  together these days.

She Saw The Twin Towers in Smoke Before nine-eleven

 Far from her family and friends in India and alone in the house one night, Divya Gunga Din spoke to no one in particular. She asked the all-important question which had troubled her of late.

Having grown up in eastern India, Divya had been taught in the Hindu culture that there are many gods, and she always acknowledged them. However a whisper deep inside her heart kept prompting her—there is only one true God. She yearned to know which god He might be.

“As a child,” Divya recalls, “I attended a boarding school run by nuns. I adopted their Jesus as one more god among many (Hindus have thousands of deities) and I loved this Jesus also. I used to give all my candy money to Him in the offering plate. The candy man visited our school grounds every day. He always saved a treat for me, regardless of my lack of money to pay,” said Divya. She didn't know then that she was receiving the harvest from her offering to the Lord.

Divya matured into an intelligent and beautiful woman with a desire to help her people, so she studied to become a physician. She met her future husband, Ravi, in Osmania Medical College, a premier college in Hyberdad, India. After Ravi graduated and moved to the United States, he began writing letters to her, asking her to become his wife. Eventually, she agreed.

The couple settled in Rockport, Illinois where Ravi practiced radiology, soon establishing a respected position in the city's hospitals. Divya stayed home to care for their three young daughters. With Ravi earning a good income and life filled with all the comforts of the American culture, Divya should have been happy. However, she found herself in a difficult marriage. Their beautiful home seemed empty of tenderness, love, and at times even simple respect. Driven by anguish, she often took refuge in a lower room, a meditation and prayer closet where she kept statues of Hindu gods and goddesses. There she would pour out her heart, pleading for intervention. Nothing ever changed.

“My plants were my only friends,” she said of those lonely days.

One night, aching with longing for a deeper and more meaningful life, Divya walked through the house and from the anguish of her heart, simply cried aloud, “I want to know the one true god!”

At once, whether audibly or deep inside her spirit, she heard a majestic and awe-inspiring voice sweep through her.

The voice said, “I am the Lord thy God, worship me.”

Startled and somewhat fearful, she went to bed. The next morning, still filled with wonder, Divya ran down the stairs to her meditation room.

What she found there further surprised her. All the idols and statuettes of Hindu gods had fallen to the floor. Only the cross of Christ remained upright. The idols lay face-down on the floor toward the symbol of Jesus' sacrifice for the sins of the world.

Divya had found the answer.

She began to read the Bible, visit church, and attend a women's Bible study in my home where she described the experience. Speaking in a heavy eastern accent, she said she had asked, “Who ees this Lard (Lord)? What ees the meaning of Lard?” after hearing the voice. We knew immediately that she had not imagined it, because she did not even know the word, Lord. However, she quickly accepted Christ as her Lard and Savior.

Divya's description of the statuettes fallen face down before the cross made me think of First Samuel 5:4, where the idol Dagon fell face down before the ark of the covenant. The statue's head and hands had been cut off. By whom? Clearly by an angel. Had the same angel visited Divya's meditation room?

Every week at Bible study, we heard delightful stories of how Jesus answered Divya's prayers for protection, for healing, and for other supervention in her life. She glowed with peace and joy in her new found faith, and our group enjoyed watching her spiritual growth, even while her husband's skepticism continued to grow.

Then one evening, Divya described a disturbing dream, which left her trembling with fear. She told the women in our group, “I saw two tall peelars (pillars) surrounded with clouds of thick black smoke. I knew it meant something very bad, something terrible. I also saw an evil, demonic visage in the smoke.”

Divya was visibly shaken by the dream. The women in our group had no idea how to comfort her. We could not perceive any symbolic meaning in pillars surrounded by black clouds. The closest I could imagine was a scene from a movie about King Kong. Perhaps it was merely a dream and had no significance.

Not a few days later, we watched in horror as the TV images of the two World Trade Towers were surrounded by thick clouds of smoke on September 11, 2001. Two tall peelars. I received a CNN photo at the news office where I worked as a reporter. Plainly visible in the photo are the smoky features of what appears to be a demonic face. I brought the photo to show Divya. “Yes,” she said, her eyes widened, “That ees what I saw.”

I immediately thought of how the Lord promised to pour out His spirit on all flesh, Acts 2:17, and the sons and daughters would prophesy. Also the verse in Jeremiah 33: 3, “. . . I will show you great and mighty things which you do not know.” Divya was a fulfillment of those verses, right before my eyes.

She is also the answer to the question: what about people who grow up in other religions? God is so willing to welcome all who honestly want to know Him, regardless of their race or cultural background. The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to every man, according to Titus 2:11. Every man and woman has the opportunity for salvation at some point in life.

Many years have passed since that group of precious women met in my Rockport home. I now live in Missouri, and I seldom hear from Divya. Still I will never forget how the Lord revealed Himself to her seeking heart.

He goes out of His way to seek and find the lost, not willing that any should perish.  

This chapter is an excerpt from my soon-to-be published book of encounters with God contributed by 36 pastors, evangelists, doctors, missionaries, and ordinary people. 

Duck Dynasty controversy pushes the issues

Actor's Comments

Challenge Freedom

Of Speech And FaithStigl

By Harriett Ford

The duck call does more than honk. Duck Dynasty Commander Phil Robertson, 67, is making noise that demands a new definition for the terms “freedom of speech” and “freedom of religion”—a definition free from extremist labels of “intolerance,” “political correctness,” and the right not to be offended.

The hugely popular (and profitable) reality show now has a questionable future because patriarch Robertson dared to quote a passage of scripture from I Cor. 6:9-10, expressing his personal faith in God's word. Because this passage does not condone homosexuality, Robertson is accused of making “vile” comments.

When did Christians lose the constitutional right to freedom of speech and the freedom to give voice to their faith without being labeled intolerant or vile?

“Whether I said it, or someone read it, what's the difference?” Robertson commented during the subsequent media storm. “It's not my word, it's God's,” he might have added.

Pro-gay organization GLAAD describes the quoted passage “vile.” Christians across the nation find this remark deeply offensive. They do not believe they have the right to re-interpret God's word, regardless of Obama's “evolving” opinion and the current push for cultural acceptance of gay marriage. Would the same group describe passages from the Islamic Koran as “vile” and not expect an outcry of offense? Are the adulterers, idolaters, drunkards, swindlers, and male prostitutes (also not condoned in the quoted verse) equally as offended? Is it also a “vile” hate crime to describe these behaviors as sin?

The position of the Christian faith has always been that God loves the sinner and hates the sin. Yet today, it is increasingly unpopular in this culture to label any behavior as sin. Granted there are always extremists who do not act in love toward others. Stupid behavior is what makes us human. However, it is the prayer of sincere believers that God will unite us in love, not in hate. That includes reaching out to the “sinner” to offer the hope of eternal life.

How God Provides What Santa Cannot

How God Provides What Santa Cannot
By Penny R. Koontz as told to Harriett Ford

Little did I know that God would provide in such a startling way that Christmas of 1991, nor could I have dreamed He would change the course of my entire life.

The homeless shelter was in a remote area of Texas, pitch black at night except for the light of a lonesome train passing by. I had just taken over the property, planning to serve God for one year to thank Him that I could walk again after polio's crippling effects.

With 42 youngsters, 30 adults, no money, and few ornaments, our holiday season looked rather bleak.

“Miss Penny, how will Santa find us way out here?” The children asked while decorating the tree.
“Let's sing,” I suggested. A few weak voices began singing a carol. “Come on,” I urged, “Put your heart into it.” They upped the volume, and just as I was getting into the inspirational words of the song, all singing stopped. I turned to see Santa in full costume walking through the door. He whispered to me as he passed by, “Heard you might need a Santa. I'm on my way to a party and thought I'd stop here first.”

Mr. Claus delighted the children, taking them one at a time on his knee and hearing their Christmas wishes. But to my dismay, each child asked for a bike. After he left, the reality of somehow making 42 bikes appear hit me. “Lord, how will I ever get that many bikes when just getting enough food for these people is stretching my faith?”

I certainly knew good Bible verses about how God provides abundantly and exceedingly. But I would never have guessed how specifically God, and not Santa, was about to show up.
Soon articles started appearing in the newspaper. Word spread. People brought warm clothes, toiletries, and other items, and yes, the bikes started arriving to be assembled in our “secret workshop.”

Christmas morning arrived and oh, the bikes…bikes everywhere. Eventually exhausted after all the gift-giving, laughter, ribbons, and tears of joy, I decided to head for my room for a needed rest.

As I headed out on the dirt path, I heard little feet running behind. “Miss Penny, Miss Penny!” Five-year-old Cedric caught up to me, his cheeks streaked with tears. I knelt on the dirt drive to see what troubled him.

“What is it Cedric? Why are you crying, honey?” I asked.

“I didn't git me no bike! I told Santa I wanted a purple two-wheeler, but Santa didn’t git me no bike!”

Dismayed, I groaned inwardly, how could we have been off by one bike!
Looking into those tear-filled eyes, I asked, “Cedric, honey, did you ask Jesus for a bike?”

"No, Miss Penny, I asked Santa.”

“Well, that explains it," I said. “You see, Santa Claus is a story about Christmas. He's a one-day wonder. But Jesus is the true Gift and the gift-giver. He hears you when you pray. What I am telling you are quotes to live by, so let’s talk to Him about this."

Cedric got on his knees beside me and made quite a noisy plea to Jesus ending with a request for a purple two-wheeler.

After the amen, I looked up to see dust from a pickup heading along the drive toward us. It pulled to a stop and a man stepped out.

“Sorry I'm late,” he said, “I meant to come yesterday, but our children made a surprise visit. Can anyone use this?” He lifted a brand new purple two-wheeler from the pickup's bed and placed it right in front of little Cedric.

Woman of 'great faith' that I am, I stood there absolutely speechless and simply watched as God made Himself real to a delighted child. I never got the name of the man.

The joy of that moment is as fresh in my heart today as it was that morning. And because of that joy, I have continued ministering to homeless adults and children at Jacob's House at Thunder Ranch, helping more than 8,000 individuals and hundreds of youngsters find a future with hope.

I am praying for all who read this story that you also get your purple bike, whatever it may be. Healing for your body, peace for your mind, and comfort for your heart . . . that only Jesus can bring.

Harriett Ford
Gold member # 53151
http://www.faithwriters.com/article-det ... ?id=164443

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We need God's Grace because of God's Truth.

Penny Robichaux-Koontz, 4611 State Highway 176 East, Chestnut Ridge, MO 65630 417-231-5241,