“’Abide in Me, and; I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and; I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.’”
John 15:1-5
“But now I was seeing that God was not giving me ‘things’ or showering upon me a wide range of spiritual commodities. God was giving me HIMSELF. All the ‘things’ I had asked for were to be an expression of the life of God within me. It was to be the active presence and working of God Himself within my life that made the Christian life possible.”*
For me, “abiding” is the most difficult part. It seems lazy or something. I’m an active person. I want to do things and help and fix broken things and run around and give to others and bind up wounds and read and help kids and blind people across the street, give money and old clothes and fix broken stuff for someone who can’t...at the end of the day, Christ asks me to abide/rest/refresh/wait on Him. Like prayer, sometimes the "easy" things are the hardest. Have a wonderful weekend my friends.
Take care with love, especially His! Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene
PS: ANY PRAYER UPDATES TODAY?
For any of you who wonder if prayer is worth taking time for, just page back through previous entries and see the hand of our loving Father in action!
NEW PRAYER REQUESTS: Pray for an angel of mercy to come and help Adrian as those who were to be there to help him when he arrived home are gone on holiday. The church he depended upon is focused on budget cuts; the pastor on a new post. He is frightened, alone, barely able to care for himself with no energy, in a cumbersome brace and struggling for every little thing. Yet, his last text to me ended by him saying how thankful he was to God that he had the mental resources and energy to communicate what is going on now. (Adrian, by the way, lives as far away from me as Atlanta to NYC, so I cannot be there.)
PRAISE & THANKSGIVING: Reg for his ministry and patience. For God’s support during difficult times through unexpected friends.
PRAY FOR THOSE WITH HEALTH CONCERNS: Michael recovering from deep vein thrombosis – a new life change for him. For Carlton’s recovery from surgery. Gwen (13 year old) and her headaches and attitude toward her mom. Deb, special friend with multiple Myeloma (please see her blog at this LINK. (http://debdarley.blogspot.com/) Wisdom for doctors caring for Tim, Doris, David, Poetry and Gary, Annette’s friend Sue.
ONGOING PRAYER REQUESTS: That Tim secures a disability pension with his coronary pulmonary artery disease. For Jen as she copes with her friend’s passing & for the hope of her future. For Susan in Bulgaria, struggling to provide for her husband and two children.
PRAY FOR THE WORLD: For those affected by Hurricane Irene. The world-wide economy and that people will remain calm and hopeful. Those putting their lives together after the many natural disasters this last year, especially for the volunteers and governments in: Japan, USA and New Zealand. For Middle Eastern nations dealing with unprecedented internal conflicts. For the rest of the world to stay calm with regard to war, the economy and most of all for those who are believers, to pray and help others have peace during this time.
OTHER PRAYER REQUESTS: For Carla to have good health, satisfying work and life balance. Help for Cris. Isaias (family safety and his mission work in Philippines); God’s grace on USA & REVIVAL for His children. For Kevin (Godly wisdom with his son), Michael.
ONGOING JOB RELATED: Paul needs work. That Tim might find satisfying work. Randy needs a new job in Canada or Australia. I need a new project to tackle for my work. Working on a new book and pursuing a new publisher in the UK for my other book!
*Christ For Real by Charles Price
No comments:
Post a Comment