Category: Devotional

God has made us what we are.

In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works,

which God planned in advance

for us to live our lives doing.

~Ephesians 2:10 (NCV)~

Carol Russell completed her tests yesterday, but is waiting for test results.  Pray for her as she anxiously waits.

Mrs. Mildred Birch has some tests yesterday in Baton Rouge.   Nothing was found to be wrong with her stent, but her medicine will be adjusted.

FALL

Mike Benson’s KneEmail

IN 1985 JOE SIMPSON broke his leg on his descent of a 20,000-foot mountain in the Peruvian Andes…

Then after a second fall left him dangling in midair off a cliff, his partner, Simon Yates, had no choice but to cut the rope that tied them together. Failure to cut the rope meant that gravity would eventually pull them both off the steep mountain face to their deaths.

The rope snapped with the touch of Yates’ blade and Simpson dropped into a long, narrow, vertical ice tube with no way to get to the top. His body came to rest precariously on a narrow ice bridge between two gaping vertical drops. He had two choices. He could either sit there until death slowly overtook his freezing body, or he could plunge into the dark unknown to meet death on his own terms. He had one ice screw left, which he banged into the wall of ice. The he threaded his rope through it and somehow managed to tie a crude knot in the end of it. This would be his anchor as he lowered his body into the deep, dark, icy unknown. He could not see the bottom of the ice tube — he could see only a cold, cruel, black hole. He had no idea if the end of the rope even touched the bottom. He purposely did not tie a knot in the end of the rope, which would have stopped his descent, preferring instead to plunge to his death rather than dangle in midair and slowly freeze to death.

To his surprise, his body eventually came to a rest on a flat surface of snow. But it turned out to be only an eggshell-thin layer of snow that was keeping gravity from sucking his body into the blackness. Then he saw a thin ray of light shining from the opposite side of the cavern. There was a 45-degree slope of ice leading up to where he could see a pinpoint of daylight. This was his way out – if only he could reach it.

He lay flat and shimmied gently across the thin layer of snow until he reached the other side of the cavern. But with a badly broken leg, the slope of ice looked impossible to climb.

He came up with a plan. He would bend over and dig a small foothold for each of his boots, which were equipped with crampons (metal claws) for climbing. Then he would pound his ice axes in the wall of ice above him and slowly lift his bad leg, then his good leg into the footholds, while pulling his body up with the ice axes. Each time he put weight on his bad leg, searing pain exploded up and down his leg. He would scream and curse out loud – his own words mocking him as they echoed through the hollow, frozen tube. Then he would repeat the process.

He made a decision to focus on the pattern rather than the pain. “The flares of pain became merged into the routine and I paid less attention to them, concentrating solely on the patterns.” He was so intent on focusing on the pattern that he refused to even look up to the object of his climb for fear that it would remind him of the little progress he had made and how far he still had to go. He knew where he was going, but it was more important to focus on the pattern. The pattern was working – one inch at a time, but it was working. After what seemed like an eternity, he popped his head up through the snow to see a ring of spectacularly beautiful mountains and blue sky. He had made it. But now he had to figure out a way to get down the rest of the mountain with a broken leg.

Simpson would be forced to repeat different patterns of behavior, standing, then falling forward, then crawling, then standing and falling forward again, for several days and nights without food or water. He would pick a spot in the distance and focus on it. Then he would give himself a deadline by which he had to get to it. When he finally got there, he would pick out another spot in the distance and repeat the pattern. Depending on the terrain, he would figure out a different pattern of movement that was most likely to push his body forward. Once he found the right pattern, he would simply focus on the pattern and repeat it over and over until he got to the next spot. It was a slow, agonizing process and his body got weaker and weaker as he went. Through the sheer force of his will and the voice inside his head that kept commanding his mangled body forward like a cruel drill sergeant, after several days, he finally got close enough to his campsite where his shouts could be heard. When his climbing partner found him, Simpson didn’t even look like himself. He face was bloody and scarred from falling repeatedly and from frostbite. His leg had swollen to almost the size of his waist. But he was alive.

What saved Joe Simpson was his decision to focus on a short, achievable goal and give himself a deadline to reach it. It was when he stopped pushing himself to get there by the deadline that he started to lose hope. He explains that his destination had become a “vague aim instead of a carefully planned objective. Without timing each stage, I had drifted aimlessly with no sense of urgency. Today it had to be different.”

What can we learn from Joe Simpson’s epic tale of survival?

1. In order to survive and prosper in times of adversity, you have to know what your final destination is and keep it always in your mind.

2. Break up the journey into small, achievable goals.

3. Experiment until you find a pattern of behavior that pulls you inch by inch closer to your goal.

4. Count on falling over and over while trying to find the right pattern. Then count on falling again even after you have found the right pattern. But make a decision to fall forward – in the direction of your goal.

5. If the goal seems impossible, focus on the pattern rather than the pain. Daniel R. Castro, “Heros Harvest Their Hidden Gifts,” Critical Choices That Change Lives, 130-133

12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.

13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,

14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:12-14

Have a terrific Tuesday!

Anna Lee

I’m sorry to be delayed posting The Prayer Link this morning.  Our electricity was off when I got up and just came on.

Physical training is good,

but training for godliness is much better,

promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.

~1 Timothy 4:8 (NLT)~

KneEmail

“At the name of Jesus every knee should bow…” Philippians 2:10

Mike Benson, Editor

HOW MANY OF us have heard folks say, “They just won’t be baptized…?”

“What can we do to persuade them to be baptized?” These statements seem to overlook the greatest challenge of salvation for most folks. Have you ever seen one who believed in the Lord (John 8:24), was not ashamed, but willing to confess Him before others, (Matthew 10:32-22; John 12:42-43) had repented of their sins (Luke 13:3, Acts 26:20, 2 Corinthians 7:10) and not be baptized? I’m sure there are exceptions, but the general rule in Acts is that penitent believers asked to be baptized.

Repentance is a change which begins in the mind which changes lives. In Acts 19 the city of Ephesus, the home of the Temple of Diana and capitol of worship to this goddess, was presented with the Gospel of Jesus. For the pagans to become Christians, what changes did “repentance” demand? In verse 19 they brought their books of magic into one pile and burned them. The value was 50,000 pieces of silver. This was a considerably large sum of money. Books were valuable passions and very expensive in those days. Remember Jesus was betrayed for 30 pieces of silver (Matthew 26:15), which brings their sacrifice of burning their books into perspective. Instead of selling them and advocating false doctrine, the repentance of the Ephesians led them to suffer financial loss. A second sign of their repentance was the fear their actions brought upon Demetrius the silversmith. He was in the business of selling shrines of the goddess Diana. He realized penitent Christians changed their behavior. Their change in behavior would mean they would no longer buy his shrines. The more Christianity spread (the more people repented) the less business he would have! He started a riot, hoping to defeat Christianity. Some are never willing to repent, others give up all!

Jonathan Winchester is a fine young missionary we worked with in El Salvador. He wrote me this note:

“We had some good and sad results.  The area where we worked was one of the poorest and most dangerous in Ica, Peru.  One woman had decided to be baptized, and had changed into the baptismal robe, but then decided that she could not.  She knew that repentance was necessary.  She told us that her only way of providing for her children was to go out and steal people’s wallets, and she knew that she was not going to stop.”

Should she have been advised to be baptized anyway? What would God say?  “Repent or perish” (Luke 13:3). Folks do not need to be “talked into baptism.” What folks need is to be taught the doctrine of Christ and see if they are ready to repent! Penitent believers have always responded by saying, “What hinders me from being baptized?” (Acts 8:36).  David Shannon

Then Peter said to them,

‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized

in the name of Jesus Christ

for the remission of sins…”

~Acts 2:38~

Jadon’s Story

Keto Day 5

Posted: 12 Nov 2010 01:13 PM PST

Well we made it home and things haven’t been that great. The actual preparation for my meals isn’t nearly as hard as my mommy expected. The hard part is getting me to eat which we never thought would be the problem. We actually thought I wouldn’t get enough to eat. Well we were very wrong. I don’t want to eat now. In fact, I gag and sometimes vomit. I have really had a rough start. Hopefully I will get use to it and stop gagging. We have not noticed a change in my seizures. Yes it is very early but we were hoping to see a little change. We are not giving up yet. My mom has a phone conference Monday with the herbologist. We are hoping she can help us in some way. When you pray for me tonight, please pray that we will not get discouraged. We are doing everything possible and we just can’t get relief for me. It’s very hard to stay positive at times like this but we are trying our best. We know God will help us through this and that everything will happen in his timing.

Jesus said, “‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man,

you will know who I am.

You will also know that I don’t do anything on my own.

I say only what my Father taught me. . . .

I always do what pleases him, and he will never leave me.’

After Jesus said this, many of the people put their faith in him.”

~John 8:28-30, CEV~

Opportunity

Adrianna Cavanagh lost her battle to cancer.  Her mother is now fighting for other young lives.  You have an opportunity to help.

Happy Veteran’s Day! Thanks to all of you veterans for your sacrifice. We can all be heroes by donating blood or joining the Bone Marrow Registry. Please notice an urgent need for bone marrow:

16 year old RJ Jackson, Jr. is in for the fight of his life. To be cured he must have a bone marrow transplant. You could be a match! RJ is the son of Keith & Vickey Jackson, brother to Kiera, grandson of Nolean Bickham, and nephew of Pat Harvey & Tracey McMasters.   RJ was diagnosed with Stage IV Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2008 and relapsed twice. The cancer came back with a vengence in October 2010. RJ is currently being treated at Children’s Hospital in Birmingham, AL.

JOIN THE NATIONAL BONE MARROW REGISTRY
All it requires is for you to register and have 4 cotton swabs taken of the inside of your mouth. No blood is drawn! Sign up immediately with Pat Harvey of Franklinton 985-515-0645 or tptpharvey@yahoo.com A minimum of 20 sign ups are needed by Friday, November 19th AFranklinton Site will be announced after sign ups are secured.
For his updates and/or to send RJ a message, go to www.caringbridge.org/visit/rjjackson

Geaux RJ-you & your family are in our prayers!

KOMpray

Kids on Mission Pray

“Keep my commands in your heart,

for they will prolong your life many years

and bring you prosperity.”

~Proverbs 3:1-2 (NIV)~

From Janet Pike

Please add Joe and Joanna King (former youth minister at KFBC)to the prayer list. They are in the process of adopting twin girls from Russia. They left for Russia today. Please pray for their traveling safety and that the legal process will go smoothly.

From Joanie Scarle

Well we have some news I wanted to share with you all. Stacey has her last chemo on Nov. 24th. We see the surgeons on Dec. 13th and her surgery will be Dec 21st. All this depends on her getting the chemo on time. The last one was delayed a week due to a bad ear infection. She has had a tough week, sores in her mouth and feeling really bad. Hopefully the worst is over until the next time. She is very tired and a little nervous but I guess that is to be expected. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. This will be most trying holiday season for us but God willing we will get through and start fresh in the new year. Thanks for your support.

Bryan Dykes of Montpelier is hospitalized and in need of our prayers.

Jadon’s Story

I have done really well today. I ate my lunch and my dinner without any problems. I don’t really like the whipping cream but I’m drinking it out of my bottle. The dietician gave us some fun ways to eat it once we get home. They are checking my blood sugar every four hours. I don’t mind it at all. I don’t even cry. They did have to do blood work this morning. The first lady couldn’t get it so she called her supervisor. The supervisor came and was able to get my labs. Unfortunately I have to have labs Tuesday and Wednesday morning:( They are also checking my ketone levels by taking urine samples. The doctors said that if I continue to do this well, I will get to come home Wednesday. Thank you all for praying for me today. This is a major change for my family and your prayers are helping. The picture of me is me playing in my bed. I’m still very happy as you can tell. Please continue to pray for my healing. I’ll keep you update!!!

I’m happy to report that Brenda Smith, mother of Dana Hendry, was able to have her surgery yesterday and did very well.  Thank you for praying for Brenda.

Harrell Sharkey has scheduled double knee replacement for November 24th.  Please keep Harrell and Susie in your prayers.

Pray for Seante’ Bennett as she gives birth to a baby boy today.  Continue to pray for them as they make lots of adjustments a new baby brings.

Heart to Heart from Holley

Posted: 06 Nov 2010 08:27 PM PDT

grace undeserved and beauty that wraps itself around our messy lives to make us whole again,

joy that arrives like a candle and reminds us brighter days will come,

laughing until we cry and crying until we laugh,

how you hold us close in a way our hearts can feel,

for the glorious, golden leaves outside my window,

and the wind that sounds like a whisper calling my name.

The trees lift their hands as if to answer back.

I close my eyes and listen.

Everything I hear, the high and low, sounds to me like one word repeated…

grace, grace, grace.

Let’s say prayers of thanks this week. What are you grateful to God for?

Be sure to remember to thank God for all the many blessings he has given us knowing we did not deserve them!

Anna Lee

“The proverbs of Solomon . . .

To give prudence to the simple,

To the young man knowledge and discretion–

A wise man will hear and increase learning,

And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel.”

~Proverbs 1:4-5, NKJV~

Don’t forget the garage sale East Fork is having for missions from 7 A.M. to 2 P.M.

Pray for the many who have been sick/hospitalized lately.

KOMpray (Kids on Missions Pray)

http://kidsonmission.org/prayer/

I hope you will find time to read some of the prayer requests, read some stories, and watch some videos.

Operation Christmas Child

• 8 million children received shoe boxes last year
• Over 130 countries have received shoe boxes since 1993.
• To demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to needy children around the world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.

SWEET AS HONEY

This morning’s thought is based on a story that appeared on the Reuters news several years agoy:

“TEHRAN (Reuters) – An Iranian bridegroom bit off more than he could chew when, according to custom, he licked honey from his bride’s finger during their marriage ceremony and choked to death on one of her false nails.  The Jam-e Jam newspaper said on Wednesday the 28-year-old groom died on the spot in the northwestern city of Qazvin while the bride was rushed to hospital after fainting from shock.  Iranian couples lick honey from each other’s fingers when they get married so that their life together starts sweetly.”

While this groom’s death is a tragedy, my first reaction was that this is a beautiful wedding custom.  Isn’t it a great idea to start your wedding life out sweetly?  But, as I thought about it, I realized that the honey might be better saved for a later point in the marriage.  After all, virtually every marriage begins sweetly.  The trick is to maintain that sweetness after years and years of being together.   Starting sweetly is not nearly as important as continuing sweetly.

Those of you who are married may do well to ask if the sweetness is still there.  Husbands and wives, do you treat each other just as sweetly as you did those first few days of wedded bliss?

How about in your other relationships?  Do you communicate with others in a way that can honestly be categorized as “sweet”?  Listen to these words of Solomon:

“Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.” (Prov. 16:24)

May your life be filled with sweetness, and may you be blessed to be surrounded by sweet people.

Have a great day!

Alan Smith
Helen Street Church of Christ
Fayetteville, North Carolina

Have a wonderful weekend!

Anna Lee