​by Rebecca Vickory
     Faith comes through hearing, and hearing through the Word of God. Romans 10:17
There have been a lot of upheavals in my life lately, leaving no stone unturned. The process
feels exhausting and can feel like the life I knew is being laid waste. The questions come, do I
really know who God is? Is He who I think He is? How can I be sure? Can 10 million atheists
really be wrong? If they say I am foolish, does that make me a fool?

     For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is God’s power to
us who are being saved. 1 Corinthians 1:18

     I have been following the Lord for 27 years of my life. Is it possible that I was brainwashed?
Did I make a foolhardy choice to spend my life in pursuit of the ways of a fictional character?
I do not think so.
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     When I met this humble carpenter in 1998, my response surprised even me. I had known that
God was trying to get my attention. And then the message of the gospel was spelled out to me.
For God so loved the world that He gave his only son, that whoever believed in him would not
die but have eternal life. He showed his love for us in this, that while we were still sinners,
     Christ died for us.
     Jesus died for me.
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My heart stirred within me. If He gave his life to save mine, how could I not follow him? And so
I did. I dedicated my life to him from that moment on. In the earlier days of my faith, I pursued
him with the enthusiasm of a hungry person finally learning what it meant to be fed.
I have endured a great deal of hardship since I met the Lord. But I took His words to heart
when he said, in this world you will have trouble, but fear not, for I have overcome the world. I
have gone through seasons of plenty, and I have gone through seasons of scarcity.

     Like, Paul, I learned the secret to being content: I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength.
Today as a seasoned believer, I still try to immerse myself in His Word as often as I am able to
do so. Sometimes, I cannot read it, so I listen to it on audiobook. Hebrews 4:12 says that the
word of God is living and active. What I know to be true is that as I listen to it, as I read it, when
I give it my attention, I feel a stirring in my heart as I listen. I feel my spirit move in me. It is not
just a book. It is the Word of God. There is no other work of literature that has ever moved me
as much, and as readily as the Bible. 
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     If you are not a seasoned Biblical scholar, or if you are simply out of practice at reading or
listening to His word, start in the gospels and work your way from there. The book of John has
always been my favorite, and it still moves me every time I go through it.

     Jesus lived. He walked this earth with people who didn’t always get him. He was a humble
man who didn’t have physical features that drew people to him. In other words, he was not a
great big hunk of a man who had earned status by his good looks and might. I can relate to this
Jesus. And hearing about him from those who spent time with him, (or interviewed those
closest to him) makes my heart delight in him again and again and again.
Word of God speak, would you pour down like rain,
Washing my eyes to see your Majesty To be still and know that you’re in this place
Please let me stay and rest in your holiness
     Word of God speak.
-     -Mercy Me
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     Dear heavenly Father, would you speak to us through your Word? Would you move in our
hearts as we read it and make it come alive? Sometimes I am easily distracted and I lose focus
when I spend time in your word, but Lord, you can breathe your life into it, and you can breathe
new life into me. Please remove the obstacles that would keep me from spending time with
you. Let me hunger and thirst for your righteousness, even as I hunger and thirst for your
Word. Thank you, Lord, for your patience with me. Grant that I would know you more and
more, and that I would be able to point others towards your faithful Word as well.
In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

  by Peggie E Potter-Balaum

​Rev 4:30  ...and there was a rainbow round about the Throne, in sight
as an emerald.
 
I John 4:7-12 Beloved let us love one another, for love is from God &
whoever loves has been born of God & knows God.
Anyone who does not love does not know God because God is Love.

Genesis 2:18  It is not good for a man to be alone...

        God is Love ! He is also the Author of love & life. When I consider
the wonderful works of His Hands, He is the ultimate Artist
! As an artist leaves his or her signature on their work, so Creator God signs
His works ! Ever wonder how in spring & summer everything is so
beautifully green? Where Father God is enthroned His life force surrounds
His Throne & Majesty as an emerald green rainbow. He is the Author of all
living things ! His Wisdom far exceeds that of all the combined intelligence
​of man through all the centuries !

        Read the account of creation in Genesis ! Notice the perfection of the order of it all, the earth, seas, & sky ! Green plants
were planted before animal & human life to provide oxygen & food !He made life in all it's diverse forms along with that
which is needed to sustain it !

         God is Love ! It is His very nature to be in relationship & He made humankind to need relationship with Him & each other ! 
God exists in a 3-fold relationship : Father , Son , & Holy Spirit who have never not existed & have been together throughout all of
eternity with no beginning & no end ! We are made in His Image. We were made to exist in relationship with Him & one another.
The ideal marriage is also 3-fold : Jesus at the center & husband & wife . As does Creator God as Love, life emanates from the
marriage relationship as children made in His image. this is such a beautiful & good thing & was in fact His command:
to be fruitful & multiply (Gen 1:28 ) !  As made in God's image , we are spirit beings !  Our spirits need nourishment.
We need Jesus, God's loving Son, sent as Living Water & the Bread from HEAVEN !

After all, God as Love, would that none should perish, but that all should come to repentance & be saved (2 Peter 3:9).
 God as Love produced life & the means to sustain it, both physically & spiritually & eternally.

What a blessed thing that Father God desires us to dwell with Him in His House as His big blessed family
! I thank You & praise You Forever King & Savior Lord Jesus for making it possible !

by Linda Hokit
 
     They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus Himself came up and walked with them…
Luke 24:14-15 (NIV)
 
     I used to be a runner. Then God made me a person who is now happy to walk alongside others. It was quite the transition to stop running road races after more than 20 years. As difficult as it was, I am now a person who is happy to walk for pleasure and renewal. More than that, God transformed me from a competitor to a servant who now sees Him on each adventure.
 
     It’s not always easy to make transitions and sometimes it takes time to happily join in the change. Let me share a few precious stories about how that happened for me.
 
     I was an athlete in my young years never happier than when I was running. It makes sense that I would participate in team sports all through my school years. Then I went to college and that changed.  God had many lessons for me in preparation for the call to fulltime service He eventually offered me. I learned a great deal in those years about how God speaks and leads.
 
     On one particular day I was reading the newspaper and learned there was a lady in her 70’s who had just started running. She did it because her doctor told her quite bluntly that she could wait to die or get up and find something to live for. Yikes! So, she had become a runner and an inspiration to me. I immediately started running for the pleasure of it. Looking back, I was motivated and inspired by a person who had found a purpose and set out to accomplish it.
 
     Over the years I began running road races and soon selected the ones I would run by the cause they were seeking to support. As time went on, I realized I was running most often for those affected by health conditions like heart disease and cancer. As I grew in the Lord, I began to use my preparation for those races as time for fellowship with the Lord not just as opportunities to increase my race time. As I began to minister through my church, my running times became prayer walks. It was joyous and yet still a bit short sighted. Soon I learned that God had more in store.
 
     As time went on, running became more and more difficult for me for so many reasons. God began to move me from a runner to a walker. I would go to races that allowed walkers and would catch myself sneaking in a mile or two of running! Then one day I was standing at the back of the pack of walkers waiting for the runners to get on the course. Thousands of runners in the Heart Run were spread out running down the hill for all they were worth.
 
     Then my image of the crowds changed. I suddenly burst out in tears. It was like Christ looking over the city of Jerusalem weeping because they were sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:36) I realized I now had a purpose. I determined that from that point on I would prayer walk the races I took part in watching ever so carefully for God to lead me to those I should walk along side that day. It did not take long before I had confirmation I was on the right track. There was a ministry center for students near the course and a pastor there was playing Amazing Grace on an alpine horn as all the race participants came by.
 
     Then, as my fellow walkers and I turned the corner onto the course that day, I saw the hospital. I remembered that one of our pastors was in the hospital because of a heart problem. God then gave me one more confirmation that He has been working in our midst. After cheering people along, walking with some, watching for people in need of help, etc. I went home to change.  Then I turned my bib over and wrote a note to the pastor and set out to hand deliver it.
 
     However, when I got to the hospital, he was not in his room. Just before I was going to drop the bib and leave, his wife came in and told me he had gone to minister to another patient.  A year before he had survived a bear attack. It just so happened there was a young man in the hospital that day who had also been attached. I must say it is rare for people to survive a bear attack.  And yet, God had worked things out so there were two survivors in the hospital at the same time!  As I left the hospital, I prayed for their conversation. A few months later I was able to see the pastor and heard how God worked through the visit he made and how encouraging the bid note had been.
 
     Over the course of about three years, I worked to refine the opportunities I had to minister while walking. Then one day God gave me  the opportunity to be all in with the transition from competitor to minister. I was again planning to walk, and yes maybe to run a bit during the Alaska Run for Women. However, I woke up on race day with a headache and really wasn’t sure I would make the race. But God impressed me to give it a try. The event had added a one-mile walk that started later than the full-length race. I made it just as they let the walkers onto the short-course.
 
     I first came up on a group of Red Hat Ladies and thought that group might be my ministry for the day, but I realized I should press on. Soon, I met a lady who was on staff at a church. She was recovering from knee replacement! The joy we had as we walked was unparalleled. And yet I knew there was more to do. I pressed on and saw a lady by herself on a bridge just looking in the river. I knew she was my appointment. I walked up and simply stood next to her for the longest time. Soon we were talking and she shared she was walking in memory of her sister-in-law. Her sister-in-law’s name was Linda.
 
     As we walked, I realized I had the skills to speak with her in her grief. We finished the race holding hands pointing to Linda in heaven. My new friend smiled and walked away having completed the course God inspired her walk. Since then, I have been happily walking hoping I will find the God-inspired appointment He has for me each time.
 
     We are all on a walk with our Father. He has already laid the course we will walk and if we are looking, we will see Him pulling up alongside us on the journey.