THE GLORY OF GOD IN THE HUMAN BODY

Watch for the left hook in this video. You may think you know what is being said but stay tuned for the big finish. You will be amazed!

The surprise is named laminin, and if you keep watching you will learn something known by few but obvious in scripture: Jesus holds us together.

Jesus Proclaimed at Headwaters of Guadalupe

Intercessors from multiple churches in Kerr County, Texas, gathered in unity April 28 at the headwaters of the Guadalupe River to pray, worship, and proclaim the name of Jesus over the river and all it touches as it flows outward. They also served communion to one another.

Come reign in Kerr County, Lord Jesus, and all the counties, communities and towns in contact with the Guadalupe. May the river of heaven flow through families and individuals, bringing your love, joy and peace. May you be glorified.

Let's Go Down to the River & Pray!

Where I live it is possible to cross over several pristine rivers in one day! The closest to me is the beautiful Guadalupe, which starts in our county and flows through many others into the Gulf of Mexico where it unites with the waters there and ultimately touches distant shores.

Rivers Symbolize the Life Flow of God

Since rivers in the Bible symbolize the life-giving flow of God in our lives by His Holy Spirit, they have a special meaning to the Church.

Praying at the Guadalupe Headwaters

Last Monday intercessors from several churches in the area united in prayer and worship and proclaimed the name of Jesus at the headwaters of the Guadalupe, declaring that He would touch all communities and families that the waters of the River touch as it flows outward from springs and seeps in the Texas Hill Country.

May the Spirit of God Flow Like a Mighty River

Today it was natural as I thought about what would be appropriate to mark this special occasion of our National Day of Prayer that the River of God came to mind. My prayer is that the Spirit of God flow like a mighty river through the families, churches and institutions of America in a powerful way, cleansing and restoring all that is touched, bringing His mercy, goodness and power to our land for His divine purpose.

WHY GOOD FRIDAY IS GOOD

BECAUSE OF JESUS WE CAN HAVE LIFE

This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed;

By believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. John 3:16-18 The Message//Remix

A WAY OUT OF SIN & INTO HIS PRESENCE

The first Good Friday showed us the depth of God's love for us. He made a way for us out of sin and into His presence, with His life flowing through us, when we believe Jesus is God and trust that what He did on the cross is sufficient to make us right with God.

Photo by DetroitDerek

TODAY I PRAYED FOR YOU by Melissa Sullivan

Today's post is from guest blogger Melissa Sullivan. I read her wonderful poem on MyChurch.org, a social networking and blogging site for Christians and churches. Those of us online there inspire each other, pray for each other, and have a lot of fun together. Click here for the sign-in if you want to explore MyChurch; click here to see my profile page.

Now for Melissa's poem, Today I Prayed for You:

Today I prayed for you
while I was talking to God.
I asked Him to bless you
and I found it rather odd.

That as I prayed for you
the rejection you made me feel
began to disappear
and my heart began to heal.

The anger you have shown
doesn't matter anymore
The bitterness is gone
I'm not keeping score.

The persecution I encounter
pails in compare
To the love that I feel
when I come to Him in prayer.

The judgment that I sense
no longer stings,
the only regard that matters
Is that from my King.

I asked Him to soften your heart
so that you can perceive
the hurt I have endured
has brought me to my knees.

Your animosity gave me a glimpse
of what I could see
as He carried His cross
to Calvary.

MLS 3/20/08

But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:19

HILL COUNTRY ADVENTURES, in memory of Sarah

SARAH KUITHE

Born: December 10, 1942
Was found to be with her Lord: February 17, 2008

My friend Sarah was devoted to the Lord, was a serious student of his word and was a servant to many. She had a passion for missions and served many hours in support of that passion, including a trip to Mexico. She was also a very good neighbor, friend and sister in the Lord to my husband and I - and a member of our church, Impact Christian Fellowship. She died recently and after a time of grieving, I wanted to post this as a celebration of her life.

We worshipped together, attended meetings together, helped each other out here and there, and had many quiet walks together and some great adventures. She came to our family reunion and held the youngest member of our family while the rest of us helped the older children fish.

I shared the adventures below previously on a blog I write that is mostly about my life in Scenic Valley in the TX Hill Country, with occasional side trips.

SARAH SAVES BAMBI

Written 8-07-06

We were out for a drive to enjoy the rural countryside in Kerr County. Sarah, our friend and neighbor, was driving in her black SUV. Suddenly, we came upon a dramatic scene: on our left we saw a fawn running as if for its life. On our right two massive farm dogs of mixed breed were keeping pace with the fawn but were restrained by a sturdy fence.

OPEN GATE = DANGER

In the pasture with the dogs, someone was baling hay and the hay balers had left the gate open for easy access to the road. The fawn was safe as long as he kept going straight but for some reason he turned around and headed in the opposite direction. When he turned back, so did the dogs.

SARAH'S SUV FILLS THE GAP!

I thought Sarah had lost her mind when she quickly threw the car into reverse and started backing up on the public road fast as she could. Quick-thinking Sarah had immediately noticed the danger: the dogs were headed for the open gate. Once out, they could do as they pleased with the fawn, for the fence on his side of the road appeared impenetrable. He would be trapped.

Caught up in the fawn's emergency, we all called out to him, as if that would help! But Sarah did something better. That's why she was backing up the SUV as quick as she could. At first I thought she did it just to continue to see where the fawn was going but then I realized she meant to cut the dogs off. They were right alongside of us and it was a toss-up if we would get to the gate before they did. But we made it! Just in the nick of time, she backed into the gate, neatly closing the entrance so that the dogs could not get out.

FENCED OUT?

We thought the fawn was home free but, strangely, he turned around and headed back in the direction he came from. The dogs turned back that way, too, and since they were no longer interested in the gate, Sarah pulled out and drove slowly so we could continue to watch the fawn and encourage him (not that he knew that!). Since he wasn't very old I kept wondering where his mother was. My husband worried that as hot as it was and as small as he was, he could die of heat exhaustion if he continued to run back and forth with all his might, breathing heavily.

When he got to a certain section of the fence he turned back. We were afraid he was headed back to the danger of the open gate but instead he quickly double-backed again. He did this several times, going back and forth, back and forth, and it became obvious to us that he was looking for a way through the fence that he expected to be there.

It was a well-built fence designed to keep deer out and to us it looked like an impossible barrier to overcome. But he kept looking, certain of what he remembered and confident he would find it. We agonized with him and worried about the dogs and the open gate.

HOME FREE!

Then suddenly, he slipped underneath and was bounding on the other side, white tail waving. (Home to Momma, I thought.) Whew! We were thrilled but exhausted from living his adventure with him.

FIREWORKS IN THE SKY

Written 9-16-06

Last night Sarah and I walked at twilight. First we checked out the northwest side of the creek, where a deer herd feeds. Then we walked over the dam and inventoried the resident birds of our lake.

Our walks are never complete until we locate and count each one. Six swans? Check! Two domestic ducks? Check! Five mallards? Where? There!

It was dark when we ended our walk on her deck. Sarah's deck is up against the side of a hill that filters out light and is almost secluded so that it makes an excellent star-gazing platform. So we sat there, contemplating the clarity of the star-laden sky. Sarah says any night she is out star-gazing, she never fails to see a shooting star. She told me that when her husband died after a long illness, she would sit on the deck at night and fellowship with God and he would comfort her by showing her shooting stars.

She's good at spotting them (she was tutored by the Best!) and usually sees some that I don't. But not this night! I stretched out, face up and counted five. Wow! And the last one? Unbelievable. It was wide and long and burst into orange-red flames just as it came to the horizon. I've never seen anything like it! Lord, thank you for this beautiful and exciting night in Sarah's company.

Shooting Star photo by J P Stanley @flickrCC

deer photo by xtoq@fCC

My Flesh is Negative, Is Yours?

This is my first post here since Christmas. At that time I felt prompted to take a break from writing. Perhaps it was becoming too much like work! I don't know if I'm back or not but I know I felt a stirring in me to write this for myself if for no one else, after a statement on Jenily's blog on MyChurch grabbed my attention. (I'd put a link to the article but her site is closed to non-friends). She said something like this:

When I choose to rule over my flesh, I immediately exalt my spirit.

She then referenced Philemon 6. In the King James Version of the Bible, it reads like this:

That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.

If you are wondering what "communicating" my faith has to do with overcoming my flesh, Jenily's main point was that many Christians think there is nothing good inside them and that Philemon 6 disproves that way of thinking because it clearly states that our faith becomes effectual (starts working) by knowing the good things present in our spirit. If we turn the verse around, it says that if we don't know what is in our spirit man, our faith won't work.

ABIDE IN CHRIST

Graham Cooke just taught at my home church on overcoming negativity through resting in Christ. A main point was that any kind of negative action or thought, even toward myself attracts negative things to me. What Jenily wrote was a continuation of the larger theme the Holy Spirit has been speaking to me about guarding against negativity of any kind. If your flesh is like mine, it is very negative! For my immediate need, I am going to think of it this way:

When I choose to rule over negativity, I exalt my spirit.

or

I strengthen my spirit by ruling over negativity.

PHILEMON 6

As I normally do, I looked at several versions and paid special attention to the Amplified Version as I crafted this prayer for myself:

I pray that the practice of participating in and sharing my faith will produce and promote full recognition, appreciation, understanding and precise knowledge of every good thing that is mine because of my identification with Christ, for his glory.

Graham Cooke's Interactive Journal Crafted Prayer is available here.