by Suellen | God's Guidance
My husband loves to photograph Eagles.
We have spent many days packing gear into our car and driving off to unfamiliar territory in order to catch glimpses of these magnificent birds. We join the quiet, respectful group of photographers who have congregated close to the nests. Then patiently we wait to spot the tiny eaglets as their heads pop up.
My favorite part of this excursion is to watch the adult birds. They launch from the nest in pursuit of food. And they soar.
High, higher, higher…
These beautiful, majestic birds spread their wings to their full extent and they soar. The wind currents carry them and they disappear from sight as they head toward the nearest water or higher hills.
Then you watch them dip and swirl as they allow the wind streams to create the lift they desire.
It’s beautiful to watch.
This scenario reminds me of our lives as Christians.
God has plans for us. Our special purpose to further His Kingdom. Our unique part in His big plan.
You may think of yourself as too small or too insignificant to matter very much to God.
If so, you are wrong. You are precious and extremely important to your Father.
Do you consider yourself a “simple person?” Well I have tremendous news for you! That’s who God is looking for.
God isn’t looking for self-sufficient ones. He is looking for those who rely on Him and His Spirit to live their lives and accomplish His will.
To put it another way, the old adage is true: the way up is down. Down on our knees and down in our own eyes.
Then He will lift you up.
When we insist on doing things in our own strength, we mix our own efforts – even our best efforts – with pride, fear, worry, confusion, and every negative emotion.
Our Father wants our lives to be above all of that negativity. He has many things for us to accomplish, but He wants us to accomplish them with joy. And he desires to work with us to fulfill our part.
So when we start with prayer, reading the Word, and listening for our Father’s direction, something beautiful occurs. We get direction as to what to do. We gain confidence that only comes from time with Him.
And He empowers us to accomplish His task.
Even youths shall faint and grow weary.
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.
They shall mount up with wings as eagles.
They shall run and not be weary.
They shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:30-31)
by Suellen | Missions
Recently I was reminded of a powerful story. Larry Stockstill, formerly a mega church pastor from Baton Rouge, was praying about God’s harvest of souls around the world. For many years Dr. Stockstill had been mission-minded. In fact, he and his wife, Melanie, had started their married life on the mission field of Africa. Evangelism had been a passion for him since he was young.
This day was different. His prayers reached deeply into the heart of God, and he found himself crying out in desperation for the lost people of the world. He saw faces of all colors and all descriptions going about their lives oblivious to the Savior God had provided.
And then he saw people standing in a line. They were standing in a line waiting for their day to depart the earth and move into eternity. The line started at his desk in Baton Rouge, went east until it met the Atlantic Ocean and crossed the ocean. Then it continued across Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean and the western part of America until it came back to Louisiana…But it didn’t stop there. It wrapped the earth again. And again. And again. Until the line had gone around the earth 37 times. A line 37 times around the earth of people who were living and would someday die.
But this was a special line. It was a line of people who didn’t know God – and whose lives after death were doomed. These were people who had never received Jesus, even though His blood had been shed for them. Some of them had heard about Him and didn’t want Him. Others had never heard the Gospel.
This picture really impacted me when I heard it.
I couldn’t help but think about Jesus and His final charge to us. Just before He left the earth, He said, “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation.” (Mark 16:15) Or, as Matthew puts it, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…” (Matthew 28:19)
He didn’t say, “Go have a great life.” (Though He wants us to). He didn’t say, “Go and be successful.” (Though He wants us to be a success). His charge was for us to take the Gospel into all the world and make disciples.
This mandate can be taken so lightly. There are sometimes overwhelming issues which take up our time and our energy. We have families, jobs or careers, our own desires, our own ambitions.
He does want us to have a good, happy life. That’s for sure. However, most people are the happiest when they are employing the gifts God gave them. Most are the happiest when they forget themselves and extend their hands and their faith in order to help others. Most are the happiest when they see others being won to Jesus and walking in the newfound grace God has for them.
So what does it take?
This happy, purpose-filled life is not one that is idle or self-centered. This happy, purpose-filled life seeks God and discovers His plans. For some, the “Go” is literal. These people feel a call to take the gospel personally into the world. They pray for provision to follow their leading, and they board planes or trains or cars in order to take the Gospel themselves.
For others, the “Go” really means “Send.” They pray for provision to send to the work, and they have giving hearts to see the mission accomplished. The “Senders” are a part of the plan just as the “Go-ers” are.
Everybody has a part to play. There are no exceptions.
Just think about it. Imagine the day coming when we have finished our lives on earth and we are standing in Heaven with Jesus. Imagine people running up to us and thanking us for what we did for them.
Where are they from? Are they African? Russian? Chinese? Lithuanian?
When we heed the call of Jesus to go into all the world and preach the gospel, whether we are goers or senders, we will reap the rewards. It’s exciting to think about. Think about the joy we’ll have in knowing we have contributed to someone being saved for eternity.
There could be no greater joy.
Let’s do this!
P.S. You may read more about Larry Stockstill and his mission by going to https://surgeproject.com.
P.P.S. You may find out more about my latest missions projects here https://glrobalreachproject.com/blog
by Suellen | Awakening
Many are talking about “awakening” these days. We are praying for it. We are believing God for it. Yet what will it look like? Will we recognize it when it comes?
Do you know what an “awakening” would look like?
Some think that it means there would be large meetings where almost everyone present will turn their lives to the Lord. That may be the case sometimes, but not always. Some think that street preachers will suddenly begin seeing many salvations. Maybe so, but not necessarily. Some think that TV and radio ministries will be bombarded with requests. That could be, but again, not necessarily.
You see, in the 70’s and 80’s (and maybe a little before), there was an awakening – and I was in on it. At the time, it was obvious that something unusual was happening…Looking back it is even more obvious.
It was an exciting time, for sure. My husband and I both were impacted by the Lord and His Holy Spirit during that season.
So what was it like?
As most of us know, salvation is a personal experience. Whether we are standing in a large crowd or on a beach alone, the connection we make with our Creator is personal. God and you, God and me, God and them – one on one. Hearts desiring more of Him – and receiving His very nature. That’s awakening, but what gets someone to that point?
If you talk to people who were a part of that great move of God, every story will be different. In my case, I had been going through some very rough waters, and knew that I needed God’s help to survive. And I had a friend, Cathy, who would drop gentle hints which were easy for a hard-headed person like me to receive. The day finally came when I laid face-down on the floor of my home and prayed to receive my Savior – if He was real. He was, and He changed my life forever.
My husband’s case was different. The life of a single professional – with plenty of money and lots of “good times,” was leaving him empty on the inside. There was something nagging at his heart, drawing him to seek more of God’s will in his life. He was ready when a friend gave him a copy of The Late Great Planet Earth. Finally he knelt at the foot of his bed, and asked Jesus to come into his heart. He too felt the call and responded while alone in his home.
I have heard many of these stories, and all of them are different. Yet there are some similarities. My husband and I – and many others – had a stirring in our hearts which lasted for awhile. There wasn’t a one-day episode; there was a season of seeking, though we might not have known what we were doing. Thoughts, questions, desires, all drawing us to want to know what life was all about – and wanting to know more about God.
In reality, God was drawing us to Him.
When the day finally came for us to make a commitment to Jesus, that commitment was total. Though we had been living very selfish, worldly lives, that moment of salvation threw us onto a trajectory which was totally new and different, and we have never turned back. Of course, we had a lot to learn, but day by day, year by year, the new course was eternal – and nothing could ever turn us back to our original paths.
Another similarity is that we – along with many others – had a close friend or acquaintance who spoke some words, or gave us a book, or invited us to a small meeting – pouring water on the thirsty ground of our hearts. And, no doubt, those same people and others were praying for us – reaching out to God on our behalf when we didn’t know how to do it for ourselves.
There was a drawing, a seeking, and a permanent change. There was an unprecedented hunger for God’s Word and His Spirit. There was also an individual who was willing to be used by God to steer us to the truth.
During those years, there were countless stories with these similarities. In many different ways and under many different circumstances, peoples’ lives were being transformed by the power of God and by his Word.
As a result of this great move of God, many churches began to spring up. These churches were led and attended by those who wanted to experience God’s best through His word and by His Spirit. There was energetic praise and powerful teaching of the Word. There were also demonstrations of the Holy Spirit’s healing and deliverance.
Exciting times for sure!
Now as we are looking for an awakening, are we ready to be a part? Are we ready to toss seed to our friends or co-workers or pray for them as God leads? Do we realize that we have a part in this?
Oh, for sure, there will be dreams and visions and life-changing events which seem to come from God alone. Yet our God always uses the individual, because there is nothing quite as beneficial as one-on-one mentoring.
Are you ready? Am I? I pray that we are willing to listen and to obey His bidding. If we do, we have some great times in store.
One here, one there, just as the awakening of flowers in the spring, we will see an awakening which not only matches the one we saw before. We will see the greatest awakening of all times.
That’s what our father has promised.
Are you ready?
Blessings and Forever Upward!
by Suellen | Awakening
John Adams is one of my heroes.
Every year when we celebrate Independence Day, my mind wanders back to the roots of our nation. It is clear that regardless of all of the flaws of its people, God has blessed the United States of America.
“Why?” one might ask. “What’s so special about the US?”
That’s when I start reminding myself about our founders – like John Adams. They didn’t get everything right – after all, they were humans. They had some wrong ideas… some of them preposterously wrong!
Yet in their hearts, most of the founding fathers knew that there was a God who created us. They also knew that the Christian principles of the Bible had to be the foundation for the new nation.
That realization was what this country was built on.
Over the decades God has brought correction to us. He has addressed slavery and the rights of all people. He has guided us toward retribution and compassion toward the Native Americans.
And He has continued to bless us.
Today we can’t stop receiving His correction. A return to Biblical principles will answer much confusion and error in our current society. We will have to see our God as the source of all wisdom and knowledge – and the only One with the answers we so desperately need.
Listen to what John Adams had to say.
JOHN ADAMS
SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE; JUDGE; DIPLOMAT; ONE OF TWO SIGNERS OF THE BILL OF RIGHTS; SECOND PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God.1
The Holy Ghost carries on the whole Christian system in this earth. Not a baptism, not a marriage, not a sacrament can be administered but by the Holy Ghost. . . . There is no authority, civil or religious – there can be no legitimate government but what is administered by this Holy Ghost. There can be no salvation without it. All without it is rebellion and perdition, or in more orthodox words damnation.2
Without religion, this world would be something not fit to be mentioned in polite company: I mean hell.3
The Christian religion is, above all the religions that ever prevailed or existed in ancient or modern times, the religion of wisdom, virtue, equity and humanity.4
Suppose a nation in some distant region should take the Bible for their only law book and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited. . . . What a Eutopia – what a Paradise would this region be!5
I have examined all religions, and the result is that the Bible is the best book in the world.6
Notes:
1, Thomas Jefferson The Writings Of Thomas Jefferson, (Washington, DC: The Thomas Jefferson Memorial Association, 1904), Vol. XIII, pp 292-294. In a letter from John Adams to Thomas Jefferson on June 28, 1813.
2. Letter from John Adams to Benjamin Rush, from Quincy, Massachusetts, dated Dec 21, 1809.
3. John Adams, The Works Of John Adams, Second President of the United States, Charles Francis Adams, editor (Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1856) Vol X, p 254, to Thomas Jefferson on April 19, 1817.
4. John Adams, Works, Vol III, p. 421, diary entry for July 26, 1796
5. John Adams, Works, Vol II, pp 6-7, diary entry for Feb 22, 1756 6. John Adams, Works, Vol X, p 85, to Thomas Jefferson on Dec 25, 1813
by Suellen | Successful Living
I can remember, as a child at my piano recital, waiting for my performance to come up on the program. I would sit, supposedly listening to the others, but totally distracted from music being presented. I was waiting for “my time” to come. That’s what I was there for. And when our group went back stage as “our time” got closer, it would have taken the National Guard to keep us from running and playing as we waited. We were waiting for “our time.”
I’m sure that many who played sports would have similar recollections. We were there to do our part. Of course, we pulled for the team, but we wanted our part.
As children we longed to be in the game… but what happened to us? Maybe put-downs or discouragements, maybe setting goals so high only supermen could have accomplished them, but for some reason, as adults we are different. (more…)
