keelight.net

WORDS

WORDS

Happy Halloween! That is what a lady from work said to me. We were at my husband’s funeral right before October 31^st.  She came through the line of family and when she got to me, she said she did not know what to say. So, she said happy Halloween. I could see my daughter out of the corner of my eye and I will never forget the look she gave the lady who said that to me.

Was that appropriate? What should she have said or maybe she should have just given me a hug and not said anything? Do words really matter? There is a saying “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never harm me.” I have found that not to be true. Sometimes a person will say something that pierces my heart. I am sure that we, including myself, have said things that we shouldn’t have. Things that have hurt others. Things that “kinda fell out of our mouths” my mother use to say.  Maybe we did not realize that we had said something that hurt another.

I am going to list several scriptures here and I want you to answer those questions based on them. And I will tell you three times that words have been said about or to me.  

1. James 3:1-12 “…For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body… Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things…the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature, and it is set on fire by hell…It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God…My brethren, these things ought not to be so.” Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” The job I retired from; I was a receptionist at an animal hospital. A man called to check on his pet, wanting to talk to the doctor, who happened to be in surgery with another pet. I told him she would call him back after she was done. He did not like that answer and started cussing at me. I was not looking forward to seeing him at the end of the day when he would come back to pick up his pet. But he called back and what he said will be something I will always remember and helped me to deal with other clients who were cranky. He said I was the first person that he talked to after he found out his wife had stage four cancer. He apologized. He did not have the right to cuss at me. His words were sinful. But we have to live in this world. After that when someone started cussing at me, I told them they should not talk to me in that way and I learned to hang up. (By the way, most clients never acted like this man did. I actually, through the years working there, became good friends with clients and was able to talk to help some who were going through the same type of trials I had gone through.)
2. Ecclesiastes 10:20 “do not curse the king, even in your thought; do not curse the rich, even in your bedroom. For a bird of the air may carry your voice, and a bird in flight may tell the matter.” 2 Thessalonians 3:11 “for we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies.” When I was going through some of the trials in my life, my husband was not able to work. He had applied for disability retirement from the post office and while we were waiting for it to go through, the post office did not pay him at all. This was a period of seven months. The church was helping us financially. A dear friend came to me and said there was a rumor going around, that I was using some of the money, the church was giving us, to give to my daughter and her husband. That was absolutely not true! I asked my friend to tell whoever was spreading that, to “unspread” it! I did not ask who it was that was spreading that untruth, nor did I want to know. It hurt my heart that someone would say that about me. I have always been thankful for my friend who told me and asked me about that gossip.
3. Ecclesiastes 3:7b “A time to keep silence, and a time to speak.” The lady who told me happy halloween at my husband’s funeral, should have kept silence. The fact that she was there, told me that she cared but her mouth spoke when it should have kept silent.

Let’s look at some ways that the tongue (mouth) can be used for the good and I will tell you three ways the mouth has enriched my life.

1. Isaiah 50:4 “The Lord God has given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary.” When my husband was so sick, I was working two jobs and at one point I was working three jobs. Thank the good Lord, I was younger back then! There were so many times I was so weary of all the stress and the busyness during that time. I remember going to church services, when I was so weary, and there always seemed to be a Christian sister or brother who knew exactly the right type of encouragement I needed. Either by what they said or sometimes, I just a needed hug. Thank you to all those who were there for me!
2. This is the last words in the book of Psalm 150:6, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord, Praise the Lord!” One of the ways I have been able to “stand” the trials I have gone thru, is to start thinking and speaking, all the goodness of my God. There have been so many times that all I could see was the negative in a situation. But when I started seeing the blessings in the situation, I could feel that negativity coming out of my heart! I could center my heart once again on the greatness of God and His promises! Thank you, God, that you will always be by my side and that one day I will be in heaven with You if I have obeyed and kept His laws.
3. Psalm 125:2 “Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, The Lord has done great things for them.” This verse is talking about when the Israelites came back from Babylonian captivity. They were so thankful to the Lord and they laughed and sang. I wish I could sing well. Because of covid, our church met together with technology since we could not gather in person. I remember singing out loud. My sons dog raised his head up, turned his head, and got up and went into the other room. Even though I hurt dogs with my singing, I have always loved music. There are songs that have helped me through the emotions of my husband’s death and when my mother passed away. There are songs that just make me happy and able to uplift my spirit for the day. During those rough years, my daughter was in her teens. My older grandkids were small. I remember that they could uplift my spirit by words they said or activities they were in. Proverbs 17:22 says “A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.”’

So, what am I trying to say here? Words do matter! If you realize that you have said something you shouldn’t, talk to that person. Be sure to forgive yourself and start from today to pay more attention to what you say. Maybe, saying nothing is what a person needs. Be there for them and just listen or just be there by their side. Even though something makes you angry, hold your tongue. Don’t give yourself over to sin. But on the other hand, words can make a huge difference in a person’s life. Just look at the many people today, who were not encouraged as a child. They were made to feel they were of no value or not loved. Encourage others with your words. Let them see your light shining for the Lord!

Words! How are you using them? It will determine whether you go to heaven or hell one day when you die. Think about it! Words are important!

Till next time!

                                                  Keela

THE EVENING AND THE MORNING

While reading the creation story in Genesis 1, I noticed something I had not ever thought of before. Have you ever done that? Who knows how many times I have read, taught and illustrated that story to children through the years in their Bible classes? Then, after reading it again, all of a sudden you see something that you had not ever thought of? After each day of creation, God said six times, “So the evening and the morning were the first (second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth) day.” & “… on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.”  What do you see in that phrase told six times? The phrase “…the evening and the morning…” I wondered why He starts with evening and the end of His day was the morning.

I have realized through the years of studying the Bible, that God had men write the words that are the Bible, for a reason. John 21:25 tells us “And there are also many other things that Jesus did which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.”

Usually when I think about a day I think of daytime and then nighttime, the morning and then the evening. But God said “So the evening and the morning…”  It started me thinking about when we go through the trials on this earth. There have been so many times that I have been in a dark trial that seems to go on and on forever. I have prayed and prayed during those times but I stay in that darkness. I wonder, has God even heard my prayers? Has He forgotten me? Nothing is changing, day after day. Am I going to be stuck in this dark place forever?

The answer to those questions is: yes, God is hearing our prayers, and no, you will not be stuck in that darkness. 2Corinthians 5:7 tells us “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” It is hard to see in the darkness. I have stubbed my toe so many times on furniture that has been in the same place for years, when I am trying to walk in the dark. That is the same way with our walk with God. We have to keep our faith during those dark times. We cannot see an end to it but God uses that darkness to teach us. He starts with that darkness to bring about new things in our life, in the light. We need to remember that if God allowed us to be in this darkness of the world, He will get us out of it. 2Corinthians 4:17 says “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” If every part of our lives started in the light, we would have no purpose for our faith to depend on Him.

All we see is the darkness and the negativity in the middle of the situation. I forget at times to still be thankful in the midst of a struggle. We have the example of Paul and Silas in Acts 16:25-34. They were in prison. In Bible times, the prisons were not like today. Instead of fingerprinting and taking a picture like is done today, they were beaten first. This passage says Paul and Silas feet were put in stocks. A stock was a wooden frame that secured a prisoner’s feet and hands. They were also put in the inner part of the prison. At midnight, they were singing and praying. They were praising God in the middle of this dark trial. I don’t know about you but I would not be in a mood to be singing. This was literally in the darkness, at midnight. I usually tend to wallow in my pain, try to fix a situation on my own and then I realize I have not talked to God about it. God did not leave them in this prison for long. God caused an earthquake to get those stocks off them, chains off all of the prisoners and opened the cell doors. The keeper of the prison started to kill himself. He knew if all of his prisoners were getting out of prison, that he would be killed for letting them escape. Instead, Paul told him to not kill himself. The guard dropped to his knees trembling, asking what he needed to do to be saved. He had also heard them praying and singing praises. Paul told him to believe in God. And then he and his household were baptized. God turned a dark situation into light. These men still had to go thru their dark trial. But they remembered to praise and thank God for His goodness in the middle of it. That is a part of our faith. Remember that God is working our trial for the best. God started this situation in the dark, just like He does in our trials. But the darkness was used to bring light to others.

Don’t go by your feelings about a situation but rather what you know through your faith. I can look back, now and see that God was right in the middle of those dark times with me. He was using it for my best future and to lead others to Him through my testimony. God is preparing you for the light. The dark makes us stronger, more confident. Maybe our darkness will help someone else. Never doubt in the dark what God has told you in the light! We become a light unto another. Just as the light from the moon, is a reflection of the sun, the light we give off to others, is a reflection of God’s Son.

2Peter 1:19 says, “…we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts…” Study the scriptures. Those words are what God wanted us to hear and follow the examples of the characters of faith.

Light is coming. There has not been a time in my life that the literal sun did not come up. There is a popular song by Danny Gokey called “Haven’t Seen it Yet.” These are the words I want to leave with you.

Have you been praying and you still have no answers? Have you been pouring out your heart for so many years? Have you been hoping that things would have changed by now? Have you cried all the faith you have through so many tears? Don’t forget the things that He has done before and remember He can do it all once more. It’s like the brightest sunrise waiting on the other side of the darkest night. Don’t ever lose hope, hold on and believe.

I love those last two phrases. That is so true. It is so dark right before the sun slowly rises. And that sunrise is so beautiful and bright. We just have to hold onto God’s promises, believe and hope. When you are in that darkness, and we all will go through it, remember the sun will shine once again. Don’t stay in that darkness. We have to reach for God’s light. Remember to pray and praise God. He is the answer to changing that darkness into the brightest light!

Why did God say the “evening and the morning?” I am not sure. Maybe one of the answers to that, is in our lives on this earth we go through dark times. But morning, light is coming. It always has and always will. Hold onto God’s promises. He is the light!

1John 1:5-7 reads “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

Till next time!

                                                        Keela

THROW ASIDE YOUR GARMENT

When the weather gets warmer, we can finally not wear our coats. I love that time of year! The coat is such a burden to wear, keep track of and put back on to go outside. In Mark 10:46-52, we read of a blind man who had an outer garment and he threw off his garment. It is lengthy but bear with me. Notice the underlined sections. There is a lot we can get out of this passage of scripture about the garment or garments that we are wearing.

“Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ So, Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer, Rise, He is calling you.’ And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus. So, Jesus answered and said to him, ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’ the blind man said to Him, ‘Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.’ Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.’ And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.”

This poor man was a blind beggar who sat by the side of the road. Can you even begin to imagine how he must have felt? There are four things that I want us to think about from this scripture.

1. He was begging by the side of the road. When he heard Jesus was coming by, he cried out to Him. He addressed Jesus as the “Son of David.” I wonder why he did not say Son of Joseph? This man had heard of Jesus and believed in Him being the Messiah, the promised deliverer. It is amazing that this man could clearly recognize Jesus even when he was blind. This blind man has spiritual insight, while many who could see, including religious leaders, were spiritually blind! Which one are you like? Are you blind to the fact that Jesus is our Savior? Or are you calling out to Jesus?
2. The crowd warned him to be quiet. They felt like he was making a scene. They did not see him as being important or worthy enough to have Jesus’ time. These people felt like he was a nobody. But then when Jesus stopped and told them to bring this man to Him, I think it is kind of funny that they change their tune really quickly! Jesus recognized this man as truly “getting” who He was and what He was here on this earth to do. No matter who he was or what he was doing physically, Jesus saw him as important and worthy of His attention. Do you feel unwanted, not important, tossed aside, beyond help, or do you realize that God loves you and He knows how many hairs are on your head? He puts your tears in a bottle. (Psalm 56:8) Like everyone else, you are important to God.
3. Jesus asked him what he wanted. Jesus already knew who he was and what he wanted, but Jesus wanted him to vocalize it. He needed to put some action into his physical healing. We, also, need to put action into our physical and spiritual healing. We need to reach out to Jesus, just like Bartimaeus did. We can’t just sit blinded by our lack of faith. Our faith requires action. Did you see in the passage that Jesus immediately healed him? Do you have the faith that God can take care of you, that He just wants us to reach out to Him in faith and meditation of the scriptures? God is always just a thought away from us. He is ready to get you out of those earthly things that are holding you back from your purpose! We just have to ask.
4. Bartimaeus threw aside his garment. In Bible times, the government gave a person a special garment to wear if they were legitimately disabled, showing that he was approved to sit and beg. This was kind of like the special attire worn by a nurse or policeman that identifies who they are. This garment was important, valuable to a beggar like him. He had to get rid of that garment in order to move forward. Do you wear a garment like this blind beggar did? We have to throw off our cloak of feeling sorry for ourselves-that we are not good enough-we will never amount to much-offended by someone and we have become bitter-we had a bad childhood and use that as an excuse-we cannot get out of that bad relationship or addiction-stuck in that job that is taking you down mentally and physically-we are stuck in the past thinking that we cannot throw off those barriers of our past in order to move forward to our future. We need to put action and throw off those “garments” that are holding us back from our God given purpose!

Do you have a “garment” holding you back from your God given purpose? Do you hang onto it and not throw it off like Bartimaeus did? Are you as a family member or friend, enabling them to hang onto their past and telling them they are ok to hold onto that, instead of helping them throw it away? We need to get away from those negative voices that are keeping us stuck in the past and not reaching out for the future! Rather, listen to Gods’ words in scripture, that with Him we can accomplish anything-we are important and good enough-we can change and move forward not backward-we don’t have to be stuck in the past. It is possible, we just have to reach out to Him. We have to put action into the healing. We need to be so thankful that we can go to God in prayer, talk to our Father and let him know specifically what our heart desires.  

2 Corinthians 5:7 tells us that “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” Bartimaeus truly did that didn’t he? Don’t let negative voices tell us that we cannot get out of the happenings of the past! We have to have faith, even when we cannot see, that God can help us throw off those heavy “garments” that hold us down from getting up and going forward into our future. Our faith can open doors we never imagined for our future we just have to press forward!

At the end of the scripture above, it tells us that Bartimaeus followed Jesus. We have to stand firm in our faith and know that God is there for us, we just have to reach out to Him and keep Him in our hearts.

Do you have a “heavy garment” holding you back from the future? Throw it off and walk into your future following God! Throw aside your garment!

Till next time!

                                            Keela

TOOLS IN GOD’S TOOLBOX

TOOLS IN GOD’S TOOLBOX

My grandfather had a wooden toolbox that he and my dad made. I remember as a child getting tools out of it and taking to my grandmother or grandfather. When my grandmother moved, after my grandfather passed away, that toolbox was unfortunately lost.

We all have a “toolbox” to get tools out of to live a Christian life on this earth. It is always there for us. It does not get lost, unless we leave it stuck up on a shelf gathering dust. It is strong and has been there for us through many generations and will still be here for future generations. Of course, you have figured out what the toolbox is that I am referring to: the Bible. Psalm 100:5 & Psalm 102:18 read “For the Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.” & “This will be written for the generation to come, that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord.”  We have that “toolbox” handed down from generation to generation. Do your children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, know about the Bible? Do they understand how important that “toolbox” is for their future and it has everything they will ever need in it?

If you go to a hardware store, you can find about any kind of tool that you might need for a project. My son works at a hardware store chain. He knows that different tools are for different jobs. The Bible tells us, in Ephesians 4:11-16, “and He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head-Christ-from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” Also, in 1 Corinthians 12, verses 12 thru the end of that chapter, the Bible tells us that there are many members in the body, the church, and we all work together for the same goal. It compares the different parts of our body, to the fact that we, as Christians, all need to work together. We are all individuals in the church and have different purposes and works to fulfill.

Just like the tools in my grandfather’s toolbox, there are many different “tools” who make up Christs’ church. There are: elders, deacons, preacher, men in the audio and video booth, people who get the video working for the people listening from home, men who stand at the front doors keeping us safe, teachers of the children and adults, people who get the class room tools ready for the teachers, those who keep the building clean and ready for the next service, people who get the bulletin ready to print and folded, people who order the classroom material and get it printed, people who send encouraging cards, those who make food for the ones in need, those who take the collection to the bank and so many other tools, through His children, that God has given, through His word, to fulfill. There are so many different people, who work for the Lord in His church and in this world. Sometimes, especially through this two-year pandemic, we have not been connected person-to-person, but we still have had tools we have needed to stay connected as Christian brothers and sisters.  

There are so many who have not been able to get out and attend services, especially the elderly and those at high risk of catching covid. I love how the verse above says “joined and knit together by what every joint supplies.” In other words, we as Christian brothers and sisters, are all a part of fulfilling God’s “toolbox,” the Word of God. We are connected in a special way that is so strong, so encouraging. A family who has different abilities to further God’s message. There is a special strong connection to those who are our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are all headed to and have a goal-a focus, of a future of living in heaven together one day. If you don’t have that in your life-if you don’t feel connected, it is time to wake up and remember what a special bond there is between those different “tools” or different Christians in His church. It is time to get back together, use our different “tools” and serve the Lord.

We are the “tools” that work together in the church, to fulfill all the talents, God gives us. The church is an important part of the “toolbox” of the word. We make up and work for the church, therefore we are fulfilling God’s word.

Tools! Who would have thought that hammer, I was looking for last week, could hold so much significance? Just like all the tools in that toolbox, the many different people who make up the church work together for His glory and fulfillment of the “toolbox,” God’s word. The words or “tools,” in the Bible, guide us to work together for the same goal, heaven. We also need to use those “tools,” to hand down from generation to generation. Are you using your God given “tools,” for the Lord? If not, then you need to dust off your “toolbox” and start using it. We need to give future generations the tools they need to be the “tools” within the church to further God’s promises. Are you using your toolbox to further God’s will? Are you fulfilling your God given purposes, by being a “tool” in Christ’s church? If not, become more active in Christ’s church-study your Bible and see what “tools” you are and then, start furthering the gospel by working within His church and those around you.

God’s “toolbox” is the key to eternal life. I am so thankful we have so many different “tools” who work for the Lord and we all work together for the same goal. Are you using your tools and are working together for the Lord? Don’t let that toolbox be lost for future generations! Thank you, God, for giving us the tools in Your toolbox to work together to spread your good news of salvation!

Till next time!

                           Keela

FIERY TRIAL

Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego. Now, those are names you don’t see every day! Try to say them ten times really fast. God had special plans for these young men in the Bible.  If we turn to the book of Daniel, you will find these young men and the fiery trial they went through. Bear with me as I give you a little history lesson and then an application of the story of these three young men.

Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem and captured the city. He instructed that “…they bring some of the children of Israel, young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans.”

There were four that they chose and brought to the king for this purpose, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. Nebuchadnezzar ordered that these  names be changed from, their Jewish names, Daniel to Belteshazzar, Hananiah to Shadrach, Mishael to Meshach and Azariah to Abed-Nego. (1:7) There are so many lessons we can get from this book of Daniel, but we are going to focus on the third chapter that tells us about the three young men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego.

King Nebuchadnezzar, ordered an image, a god, be built. The image was built of gold and stood 90 to 100 feet tall. (I imagine you could see that when the sun shone on it!) The king ordered that whenever the people heard a (3:7) “…symphony with all kinds of music, all the people, nations and languages fell down and worshiped the gold image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.”  The king ordered “…whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.”

Our focus will be on chapter 3. (Daniel is not in this chapter.) Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego refused to obey. The king was furious and asked them if they were refusing to obey his order and they said yes. The king immediately ordered that they be thrown into a fiery furnace. He ordered that the fire be made seven times hotter than normal. Usually, when someone was thrown into this furnace, they were stripped. But the king immediately ordered they be thrown in. The fire was so hot that it burned up the men who put these three in the furnace. (23) They “…fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.” Then, something amazing happens. King Nebuchadnezzar said (25) “Look! …I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” Verse 27 says “…they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected and the smell of fire was not on them.” Then the king ordered in verse 29, “Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces and their houses shall be made an ash heap, because there is no other God who can deliver like this.”

Now, let’s think about a few things. This fire was so hot. It should have immediately turned them into ashes. The three were bound, they had all their clothes on. When they came out of that fire, the ropes were off-there was no burn marks on their clothes-not a hair was singed-they did not even smell like smoke. Wow! (This made me think of my husband and two boys, who went to Boy Scout camp. When they came home and I was doing their laundry, I just loved that smell of smoke from their campfires.) The king knew that this was done by the only true God!

Let’s think about four things that I see from this story in the Old Testament.

First, I started thinking about those ropes that bound these young men. They are the only thing that was taken off. That is the same way with us. When the things of this world bind us and hold us captive, God can lose them from us. God has given us the Bible to read and thru the Holy Spirit, we can remember special verses that can help us when we go through a trial. I know that I usually turn to the Psalms or my favorite verse of the Bible, Isaiah 40:31. These verses help me to center my heart once more on God and thru them God loses the ropes that have bound my heart!

Second, there was a fourth person in the fire. We need to remember, and believe, that God sends us people at the right time and the right place. Has there ever been a time in your life that it has been evident that God sent someone to you? Years ago, when my husband and I lost our home to foreclosure and we had to take bankruptcy, we were looking at some trailers to rent or buy. We found one that we really liked, which sat up on a hill, and we were going to purchase. We walked around the trailer on the outside. As we came around the side by the road, a car pulled up and the lady asked if we were going to purchase this trailer. My husband said yes. Then, she told us some amazing things. She asked who was selling this trailer. We told her and she said he was a swindler and we should not trust anything he said. She then told us she was the original owner of this trailer! She said that every winter the pipes froze under the trailer and burst because it was up on a hill. She also said that no matter what they did, the roof always leaked. She said to really think before we purchased this trailer. She then left. My husband and I just looked at each other and ended up getting a duplex instead. Which was much better, as I and my kids would have had to try to sell an old trailer that had issues, when my husband passed away. Is there any other explanation other than God sent someone our way to take care of us? God could see in the future and knew that this trailer was not the best for our future.

Third, God took care of them in the middle of this fiery furnace. I started thinking about the fiery trials I have gone through. I always would pray that God would get me OUT of that trial. Make it go away. But instead, I should have been asking God to come INTO that trial with me. Matthew 5:45 reads “…He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” This verse tells me that even though we are trying to live for the Lord, we will have trials. We have to live in this world which is full of sin and hardships. We are assured we will “go thru the fire.” Of course, we ask God to make these hardships go away. But instead, maybe we should ask God to come into that trial and help us maneuver thru it. Help us know what is the next step we should take. Hold our hand when the pain and heartache come our way. Help us feel peace in the midst of the pain. The only way we can do any of those things is to invite God in the middle of our trial to help us.

Fourth, when the king asked these young men if they were refusing to bow down to this image, this is what they said. Verses 16 thru 18 read, “…O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter, if that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will be worship the gold image which you have set up.” They had total faith in God! Of course, God was able to bring them out of this trial. Snap His fingers and make it all go away. But even if God did not, they would still cling onto their faith and not bow down nor worship this manmade golden god. Do we have that much faith when we are presented with a fiery trial of our own?

Hebrews 13:8 says “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Thattells us that God is the same always. He helped these young men who were following the old law and He will help us today. Also, it is comforting to know that God will help generations in the future, thru their trials.

We need to remember that God will lose those “ropes” that are trying to make us fall into sin-that are trying to take us down into depression-an addiction that is controlling our lives-anything of this world that is trying to take us away from obedience and service to God. God has a purpose for each one of us in this life. We, also, need to remember, that God sends us help when we are making decisions for our life. Even, when we are making choices that will affect our future. And, we need to reach out to God and ask Him to come INTO this trial with us. We need to realize that because we live in this sinful world, we are going to face “fiery trials.” God will take some of those trials away, but He will also hold our hands while we go through that trial.

God’s promises are today, just like they have been for so many years. We have to cling to those promises, because God is the same as He has always been. God will take care of us when we go through the “fiery trials” that this life sends our way, either by helping us to figure out a way out of it or by holding our hands while we go through it.  Hold onto God’s promises! He is the only answer! Thank you, God!

Till next time!

                                        Keela