God is still the Great Physician

I love God Spots.   A long time friend needed God in the worse way for the health of her adult son. This is her report…

First report: Claudia has much to be thankful for today! Chris is communicating with hand squeezes; his temp is down; he is on no “machines” (had his “turkey and dressing” through a feeding tube; responds to many commands (cough, say “hi” which sounds like Darth Vadar); IMPROVEMENT! Still a long way to go. Richard is having symptoms of his rheumatoid arthritis coming out of remission. We still need everyone’s prayers. Bless you all.

Second report: Claudia is thanking the Lord for miracles today! Chris woke up talking! He sat up in a chair for 3 hr. Dr. said 90% of those who have this serious of a stroke do not survive. He is leaving ICU for CCU when a bed is available. Medical personnel are amazed. Chris is doing great!!

You can follow God’s hand on Claudia’s family by clicking on her link to Facebook. Be encouraged to leave her encouragement comments here, also.

Fact or Fiction? God Spot or Not?

“All the time that Peter was under heavy guard in the jailhouse, the church prayed for him most strenuously…

Suddenly there was an angel at his side and light flooding the room. The angel shook Peter and got him up: "Hurry!" The handcuffs fell off his wrists. The angel said, "Get dressed. Put on your shoes." Peter did it. Then, "Grab your coat and let’s get out of here." Peter followed him, but didn’t believe it was really an angel—he thought he was dreaming.

Past the first guard and then the second, they came to the iron gate that led into the city. It swung open before them on its own, and they were out on the street, free as the breeze.”

I was chatting on-line with a person yesterday who said they had lost their faith.  They didn’t believe the Bible anymore and felt like that was the truth.  I wonder why it is we believe what we believe?

It seems that even as Peter had an angel that encouraged him to believe in circumstances that appeared to only be a dream, we were sent the Holy Spirit so that we would believe.

The difficulty for those that don’t perceive the presence of the Holy Spirit is believing without seeing.  That is called faith.  In the midst of living life, our faith is challenged when God doesn’t perform to our expectations.  We conclude there must not be a God.

Oddly enough, it is those same circumstances that pulled us away from God that could have drawn us closer.  The missing ingredient is faith.  Without faith, it is unlikely you will know the presence of the Holy Spirit.  It all comes down to believing in what you don’t see such that you can see.

God is amazing!

When God Rejects Us

GUEST POST by: Marianne

We pray for legitimate help.   We wait, and there is nothing……..

Why?

Those who insist that every prayer is met with victory, if you pray hard enough, or tithe long enough, are wrong.

Jesus prayed to avoid the cross, but he died on it anyhow. The apostles were faithful in prayer, yet most were also crucified, as Jesus was, or put to death for their faith.

People get depressed when God does not seem to answer, or His answer is obviously “no.”

Sometimes God helps, sometimes He doesn’t. Why?

I have found that the longer I know the Lord, the less He helps me.

That does seem opposite of what I would expect.

But as I mature in faith, my faith is tested more. And I have to wait longer for anything, if I am to get it at all. God is present to help me grow in faith. If he answers too quickly, then my faith stays where it is at.

Many of us have legitimate situations. We are in serious difficulty: unemployed for years, out of money, terminal illness, etc.

We have to accept the reality of our situation.

If it is meant to be cured, then it will. If it goes on too long, we will die because of the situation.

Sometimes, we do not get another job in time, before we lose our house, and sometimes we do not survive cancer.

But this is the time to draw closer to God anyhow, because he may be all we have left. We need to also accept that it is not God rejecting our prayers for help.

God gives life and he takes it away. Our life is in His hands.

Maybe it is our time to go and be with Him.

Our heavenly reward will not be based on our success in life, or how well we got God to answer our prayers, or quickly overcoming an earthly problem.

It will be based on our faithfulness during a testing time, when God does not give us what we want.

It is the dark times when we are nothing, our life is nothing, and we have nothing, that we earn our crowns.

So when you see this happening to you, just look up to Him. He is watching you grow, and he knows the pain you are in.

He has allowed it, so that you will not only come to know Him and His sufferings, but also a greater weight of glory when you meet Him.

Do not give up. Be encouraged. God is not rejecting you.

You are closer to Him now, than you ever have been before. No matter how hard it is, just rest in Him.