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by Rebekah Beene

One day a couple weeks ago I started having a tiny pain in the ball of my foot.  I couldn’t see a thing.  Finally, I could take it no longer and I asked Danny to look and see if he could find a cut or something.  He was able to see from his vantage point what I couldn’t – a callous and within it was a tiny shard of glass.  I was so relieved! But I had to allow him to dig it out in order to find complete relief.  Even though I didn’t want to, I submitted to his careful hand.  Both the pain and the callous were gone before I knew it.

A couple of days ago I felt a pain like that again, in my heel. Sure enough upon Danny’s inspection was found another tiny shard of glass.  Since he’d already done such a good job of relieving me of it, I let him get quickly to work this time.  I wasn’t going to allow a callous to form again.

God will help us in our discomfort but we have to go to Him and allow Him to remove it His way and by His strength.
Oh beloved, God is always on your side. So you can trust Him with every painful memory and situation.  You weren’t meant to live with the pain.

You’re not destined to have a calloused life.   God hasn’t called you to live with it but to bring it all to Him.  He sees everything better than you can possibly see it.  He gets to the root problem of all the sources of your pain. You may want to ignore it and hope it goes away, but He wants you to have sweet relief.  One tiny little pain can give you such a problem. But relief comes when the Lord is allowed access to the hurt.  Some have said it’s hopeless there is no help for you.  But God isn’t afraid of anything.  Not even your worst nightmare.  He is here to relieve you of everything that is not of Him.  You see yourself as wounded but He sees you healed.  And Jesus went to the cross and grave so that you could walk completely whole and free.

God loves you and He’s for you.  That’s why you can trust Him.  He calls you as you really are – loved, cherished, treasured, healed, set free, delivered and set on High with Him.  Run to Him this morning and give Him your hurts and allow Him to do the work only He can do and live in the Light of His sweet, grace filled merciful relief!

Psalm 25:17 The troubles of my heart are enlarged; Bring me out of my distresses.

Jeremiah 30:17 ‘For I will restore you to health And I will heal you of your wounds,’ declares the LORD, ‘Because they have called you an outcast, saying: “It is Zion; no one cares for her.”‘

Jeremiah 17:14 Heal me, O LORD, and I will be healed; save me, and I will be saved, for You are my praise.

Psalm 44:26 Rise up! Come to our help, and deliver us for Your mercy’s sake and because of Your steadfast love!

Isaiah 33:2 LORD, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress.

About the Author:

In a Christian Women’s meeting in 1983, Rebekah was given a prophetic message that she would write books. Several years ago she began writing stories about special holiday memories and travels, sharing God’s love and care through each story. God has gifted Rebekah with the ability to look at the natural and see the supernatural. Both Rebekah and her husband Danny have a heart to share the Gospel and the riches of life in Christ to everyone they meet. They have served in the local church and in ministry to motorcyclists. Danny is an ordained minister and they both have been Bible study teachers for many years. Rebekah also speaks at women’s retreats and conferences. Her tag line says it all “God loves you and He’s for you”.

My website is http://rebekahbeene.wordpress.com

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by Tina Webb

But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 19:14

Samuel was a child who heard the voice of God. 

David was a teenager who sensed the call of God to be a warrior-intercessor. 

Jesus was twelve and taught in the temple. 

John the Baptist kicked in the presence of His unborn Savior.

Jesus wants the children to know Him. Not just a portion, but the whole of Him. Not just his character, but his power and authority. Jesus is the Word.  The Word declared from the mouth of a worshipping child carries power.

I’d never heard a pastor tell a congregation that children should be expected to learn the Word of God like they are expected to learn math and grammar. This well-known leader in North Carolina smashed my paradigm that children were too young to understand the same lessons that their parents learn in adult services. Adult services. That too is a mistake when it comes to the intent of God for each generation of his people.

I understand the point of the typical children’s ministry. Introduce the kids to understand salvation, the birth and death of Jesus Christ and concepts like the fruit of the Spirit in a fun-filled way. That’s great. However, the ministries that I’ve come to respect teach children deeper truths that some adults never even get in “adult services”.

My eight year old son woke up this morning ready to share an array of dramatic dreams. One in particular, caught my attention. He was walking around someone’s house, telling the enemy to get out. What was remarkable was that he knew that the enemies weren’t people, but spiritual forces that the people who lived in the house couldn’t see.

I told him that I believed God was letting him know that even though he is young, God’s authority is with him because he believes in Jesus and Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). I told him that evil spirits want to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10). My son was able to make the connection between his dream and those scriptures. This is a child who dealt for a long time with fear. I know that God would want him to know and be confident in divine power and the force of faith and what a way to do it….a dream!

Matthew 18: 2-5 Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.

Jesus elevates the natural state of a child.  In Matthew 19 he endorses them as being worthy of His time and attention. Let us attend to them and give them all of Jesus, the Word of God, and realize that they can digest a greater portion of the Word than we’d normally think. Let’s develop some “Samuels” and “Davids”

Tina C Webb graduated from the University of Virginia in 1991 where she majored in English and Music. She and her husband, Doug, also a UVa grad have six children. Tina home educated for twenty years. Born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1969, she has served as an associate pastor, a worship director, and director of a church prayer ministry. Her hobbies are indoor and outdoor DIY projects, music, blogging, and cooking. 

.https://tinawebb.net/

https://www.facebook.com/AgesandStages-1609069229382143/

https://www.amazon.com/author/twebb 

To schedule Tina to speak at your women’s conference or mom’s group: 

Email: beforethebeginning1@gmail.com

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by Sherry Chamblee

There’s something about hurtling down a Los Angeles freeway at 70 miles per hour that creates such conflicting emotions in me.  

If my hands are on the wheel, my foot on the gas pedal, I’m fine. The only nervousness comes from wondering what that big semi-truck is going to do in the next couple seconds.  

However, if I put anyone else in the driver’s seat, I’m suddenly convinced we’re all about to crash and burn at any second. It has nothing to do with the talent of the driver, either. It’s just the fact that I’m not in control.  

The other day when my daughter was driving me somewhere in her car, this got me thinking. She’s a competent driver. She had good, professional training, and has been driving successfully for several years now. Yet I get so nervous – even though she drives no differently than I do, really. 

Isn’t that how we are with God though?  

We say we want God to be in control. We buy the T-shirt that says God is on the throne, and we know where our trust lies, and we talk about letting God lead us. But when it comes to taking our hands off the wheel, to stepping out of the driver’s seat and getting in back, to letting God be the one in charge of the gas pedal and the brake – that’s when we get nervous.  

We see the semi-trucks of life all around us, and we can imagine only one outcome – us squished in the middle like a little bug. So we want to wrest that steering wheel from God’s hands and twist it all over so we can get out of the way of those trucks. We want to be the one mashing the gas pedal, or pumping the brake so we don’t run into whatever we think is too close in front of us. We want to be the one who decides which off-ramp to take and whether or not the car can make it over that piece of debris in the lane ahead. We want to be the one that decides it’s time to pull over, or that we aren’t getting where we need to be fast enough.  

Truth is, we talk a good game, but we want to be the one in charge when it comes right down to it.  

I have to remember each day to consciously ask God to take over for me. Actually I often have to remember more than each day – multiple times throughout each day. And there are lots of times when I fail.  

But every time I do take that control, I wind up messing things up. I might feel like I’m safer when I’m in control, but it’s a lie. God is the Expert – God is the Great Controller, God is the One with all the skill and knowledge and wisdom and discretion.  

Lord, help me remember that tomorrow, and every time I feel like I’m out of control on that highway of life.

About the Author:

Sherry grew up in various cities around northern and central California. This gave her all sorts of stories that sat and festered in her brain, waiting to be let loose. She eventually went to college in Wisconsin, where she met her equally frenetic husband, Rich. They have six (yes, count them) children, two dogs and a cat, and currently reside in a madhouse in the southern California area. As a family, they enjoy being active in their local church. Sherry spends her time writing when not caring for Granny, the kids, the dogs, the cat and any number of strays in the neighborhood.

Sherry Chamblee can be found at http://www.sherrychamblee.weebly.com Or check out her books at http://www.amazon.com/Sherry-Chamblee/e/B00BA06RJ2/