He Helps the Trusting Heart

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. Psalm 28:7.

One of my favorite films from when my children were little is the 1996 version of 101 Dalmations. In the scene where Dalmation owners Roger and Anita meet, she ends up plunging in a dirty pond on her bicycle. Roger brings her back to his apartment to warm up in front of a crackling fire and hot pot of tea. "You give a very good rescue," she tells him.

Disney sentimentality aside, I love to read the stories of the many different ways God protects and rescues His people. At Kingdom Bloggers this past week, the writers have given personal experiences of God’s miraculous protection, in car accidents, from people bent on causing harm, from our own potentially bad choices. We all know that difficulty comes to all of us at some point; there is no escaping the inevitability of our own deaths, for example, or those of loved ones. Seeing the miraculous happen to others, but not in our own lives, can cause us to question God’s goodness.

But I believe many of God’s rescues go unseen or unrecognized. And if we ask God, am I left out of the miraculous, given all that I have been through, his answer is a resounding NO!

As for God, his way is perfect: The LORD’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him. Psalm 18:30

If we just look around us, we may see God’s instruments for our protection: a parent who sacrificed, a sibling who provided comfort or guidance when adults failed to do so, a friend who loved you enough to warn you about poor choices, and the lessons He teaches us through our trials to help us protect ourselves and our loved ones in the future from repeating the same mistakes.

When I was a child, I burned my hand badly on the stove. That afternoon, as I lay on the couch in pain, nursing my wound, my father’s cousin Ralph “happened” to stop by. He prayed over my hand. That must have been an unusual happening in our home, because I never forgot that he prayed, even though I don’t remember if my hand felt better afterward. Not until much later in my life did I realize that Ralph had been praying for our family for years.

Who knows what protection arrived because of those prayers? I stupidly drove home one night as a teenager after a party--not a big drinker, even two was too many for me. But somehow I made it without hurting anyone or myself. When my son was one-year old, he fell down the stairs in his walker because I hadn’t put up the safety gate. He was scared, but fine. I was scared of my own momentary carelessness and in awe of God’s hand of protection.

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. Psalm 91:1.

The greatest answer to Ralph’s prayers was that our family experienced transformation through God’s grace and love time and again. I know God sends his angels to help us (when my son fell), but He also uses people to help “rescue” other people (such as Ralph). I am so grateful for the wise voices who gave me good counsel or held me accountable or came through in a pinch when I needed a rescue! God is good!

Dalmation: Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Japanese woman praying after the tsunami: Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Stupid is as stupid does...thankfully God trumps stupid.

When you've lived most of your life on the razor's edge, it's really to filter through to a single event representative of God's protection. No joke. I lived life for the better part of 25 years pretty much wide open. Nothing seemed to scare me.

Looking back, I will admit that the sophistication of  extreme sports has increased dramatically in the past decade and a half. Good thing I was born when I was born...before the explosion of technologies and thus availability of crazy stuff like base jumping, competitive motorcycle stunting, wing suits, para-sailing and a few other loose-screw ideas available to the adrenaline junkie today.

Then again, I did try to build my own hang glider as a teenager from PVC pipe and an old Slip-n-Slide. While the test run was fairly successful, the plunge from the top of the house resulted in several broken ribs, a broken nose (again) and numerous stitches. Sure looked good on paper...


Aside from my documented desire to be an astronaut as a young man, there was a hidden ambition to also work as a Hollywood stunt man. I would practice whenever and wherever opportunity presented Chevy Chase-like spills from tabletops, ladders and chairs. I had a running gag with a buddy where we staged him hitting me with his car that would send me tumbling across the hood (often resulting in abrasions and cuts). All just for a gasp or laugh.

One the most asinine stunts I used to pull involved roof surfing on a moving car traveling down the road at speeds in excess of 50 mph...with friends trailing behind in another vehicle! I'm embarrassed to even admit that today and shutter to imagine the mental damage that would have resulted in a car full of my friends watching as I had tumbled off and then they rolled over me in their moving vehicle. Dumb. Stupid.

Yep. Good thing my heyday was well after Johnny Knoxville started his video documented escapades. Many of my friends have often remarked that I/we were Jack*** before Jack*** was ever Jack***.

There's a lot more truth in that statement than I probably want to admit. I thank God daily His plan for me apparently involved something after those thrill-seeking younger days that unfortunately didn't end until well after the younger designation no longer applied.


My prayers today often focus on my middle child affectionately known as the Crazy Tomato in our home. It's a well established fact she's too much like her daddy. She's already planning to jump out of an airplane like daddy did when she's a little bigger...at age 10.


Lord. I need You in a mighty way.

Many Close Calls...Too Close for Comfort

I thought of 3 incidents in which the Lord intervened. Two were for my benefit and the third for my granddaughter.
When I was about 5 yrs old, walking alone ,nonchalantly, down the street where I lived, a small dump truck stopped. The driver called out to me
" Little girl, I need your help...see I hurt myself and I need a doctor." I looked into his truck and I thought he was hurt. I was innocent and didn't know what I saw.
He could see me hesitate and so he pleaded again..." If you just get in and show me how to get to a doctor, I will bring you home."
I was a very sensitive little girl. I shudder, even today, as I can still feel how my heart went out to him. I didn't want him to be hurting.  I remembered that I wasn't supposed to go with strangers but I was still torn. I abruptly said, as I pointed, "You just go down the street and turn and keep going and there are a lot of doctors there" ( I was pointing him towards Main Street) I knew the direction that I was pointing him to, as I had walked with my mother to her doctor many times.
He continued to try to convince me to get in his truck, all the while talking very kindly. He said, " I just don't understand what you are saying...could you just come with me and then I promise I will drive you right home?"
I hesitated again for a split second and PRAISE THE LORD, I said " No, you just go where I told you and you'll find help!" and I turned around and ran home as fast as I could.
I didn't tell my mother until I was in 8th grade , as I was so afraid that I would get in trouble for even talking to that stranger.
Another incident happened in my late teens.
We lived in a tenement house with 4 units. We were all related.. The parking was in back of the house.
One night ,I was going out. I got in the car, started the engine and then turned on the lights. Right in front of the car was a man. I was so scared, I wasn't even able to scream. I hurried to lock my doors and decided to drive away. I wondered later why I didn't just lay on the horn to alert someone that I was in danger.
It was later determined, by a detective, that it was probably a peeping Tom who had recently been looking into my cousin's window. She lived on the first floor.
I went to the Police Station to be interviewed and the detective assured me that...peeping Tom's do not attack or hurt women. Maybe statistically that is so, but it is not true across the board.
I believe God gave me the wherewithal to lock my doors and leave as fast as I could.
The third incident, I marvel at even today. I was at a local park with my toddler granddaughter. We were headed home. The trip home from the park to her condo was a mile.
It was quite sunny, so I put suntan lotion on her, including her face and hands.  What I didn't realize, her eyes started to itch and so she was rubbing  her eyes, the lotion that was on her hands, started to irritate her eyes even more. She was howling and was in a lot of distress. It seemed every step I took towards home, she cried more and got worse. I finally picked her up to carry her because she was so shaken. I carried her, pushing the stroller at the same time.  I realized, I was not going to make it. She was just too heavy. I can't do both. In hindsight, I realized that I should have left the stroller there.
At that point, I was about half way back to the condo.
I thought " Lord, I am not going to make it!"
The next thing I knew, we are at the driveway going into her complex.
Just like that...like we were picked up and plopped there.
I didn't have a lot of time to contemplate that, as I had to get her in the house to administer her emergency allergy medication. It came not one minute too soon, as she was red as a beet and her eyes were swollen shut.
I've often thought of the poem " Footprints" when I drive by that area.
I shudder to think what would have happened if God had not intervened.
I had two near drowning incidents. In one, I was miraculously plucked out of the water by an unknown "person" ( angel?) The other one, I wa given the strength to swim to shore after being repeadedly being pulled under water by a friend who could not swim. (she survived too)
I know there are more close calls when I acted irresponsibly, or when I was threatened and attacked. Then when I didn't have a clue, I was being saved from harm.
I know we were asked the question about A time...but this excercixe made me see just how many times I was saved and I thank God for His protection

Linda Maynard

God's Intervention by Jenna Vick Silliman

I know God has performed “divine intervention” countless times in my life, but I have had a hard time thinking up some dramatic story to tell. What came to mind immediately, when I heard the topic for this week, was when I crashed into the car in front of me one rainy day back in 1980 on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. I know angels cushioned the blow. I was so surprised their car was untouched. My baby blue VW Bug became a “padoodle” with one headlight out—but everyone was fine and the incident was soon forgotten.

One day, as I walked out of Safeway with my nine-year old son, Peter, I threw away the receipt in a barrel by the door. He said to me, “Mom, it is not right to throw garbage into the donations for the Food Bank!” I told him I just saw a garbage can out of the corner of my eye and didn’t realize it was not for trash.

I asked him, “Peter, do you know what it means to see out of the corner of your eye?”

He said, “Yes, that’s how I see the angels, out of the corner of my eye.”

I marveled. I wish I was able to see God’s angel armies constantly acting our behalf. They are truly performing God’s “divine intervention”. When we pray, He puts ‘em all to work. Angels are not giggling, fat, little cherubs. They are twelve feet tall or more and they are mighty warriors with super powers. Cool!

How has God intervened? I don’t know what I don’t know! I am highly favored and blessed beyond measure. On a daily basis He walks with me (and dances with me!) and talks with me. I am like Noah and Enoch, great men of the Bible, who habitually walked with God. (See Genesis 5:24 and 6:9 in the Amplified Version of the Bible.) HOW DIVINE! Jesus said, (See John chapter 15.) if we abide (which basically means to hang out) with Him, He will act on our behalf, empower us with more of His Spirit, and answer our prayers. In other words, if you want divine intervention, hang out with Jesus—He da man!

Last Sunday we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus from the grave. As His followers we have received Him and the gift of a new life. The Bible tells us that if anyone accepts Jesus and the free gift of salvation, (just talk to Jesus—He is alive and listening!) we become a new person empowered with God’s Holy Spirit. There is a Bible verse that says we are spiritually co-resurrected WITH Jesus Christ! Wow! Amazing! Now that sounds like “divine intervention” to me—big time. Hahaha!

Another way God intervenes every second of every minute is with laminin. I saw a movie about how big God is and how He created the stars and all the universes and how enormously gigantic He is to have such an endless creation out there. The galaxies and light years into outer space are immeasurable and beautiful and all placed in perfect order by our amazing Creator. I really didn’t like it because I felt so small and insignificant, like a crumb on an ant’s left baby toe. However, the narrator reminds us how much God loves us and cares for us and knows all about us—even how many hairs are on our heads at any given moment in time. There are endless and immeasurable miracles inside our bodies as well. Scientists that study the human body continue to marvel at a vast array of amazing facts. One discovery is called laminin.

Laminins are a family of proteins that are an integral part of the structural scaffolding of basement membranes in almost every animal tissue and between every cell of our bodies. Laminins are what hold us together. They are cell adhesion molecules. They are what holds one cell of our bodies to the next cell. Without them, we would literally fall apart. God, through the laminins He created, is divinely intervening inside our bodies all the time! What is really cool is that laminins are shaped like a cross—the symbol of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. (See picture above of a laminin.)

Laminins make me think of this Scripture song: "The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead, dwells in you, dwells in you..."

One of my friends on Facebook writes:

One of the many things I learned as I translated the Psalms was regarding the Hebrew word for shield. When David describes God as his 'Shield' it means God's very presence is wrapped around Him, covering and protecting. I like that. "God, Your wrap-around presence is my protection and my defense. You bring victory to all who reach out for You." (See Psalm 7:10.)

THANK YOU GOD FOR ALL OF YOUR AMAZING DIVINE INTERVENTION IN OUR LIVES!

Are We In Heaven?

Protection… I love what Andrea wrote yesterday about how God protects us from ourselves.  I think that is so true – and sometimes we realize it, and sometimes we don’t.  The – there but for the grace of God go I – is always operating in our lives.  Protection is one of those things that sometimes we don’t know it’s there.  It is so effective that we never see the danger that almost came our way.

Perhaps because I’m pre-occupied and a bit more stressed than usual, I am a bit stuck.  I lack eloquence or even a good idea of what to write today.  Perhaps that’s okay.  I think the greatest times of protection are those times I had no idea how close I came to danger of one kind or another.  I think those things happen probably every day.  While I don’t honor angels over Christ – I do believe that we are surrounded by them and they watch over us.

There was one time that came to mind.  I was pregnant with my second child.  My youngest one was in the back of a classic 78 Volkswagen Beetle.  Oh the stories that car could tell if it could talk...My ex-husband was driving.  Seatbelt laws or car seat laws were yet to be enacted.

We were on our way to visit my mother in the hospital.  It was Christmas and the road was a solid sheet of ice.  Our windows were clear.  We weren’t slipping.  We came to an intersection where we had the right of way.  All of a sudden, BANG!

A car that had barely a circle cleared from his windshield not only skidded but ended up hitting us head on – he said he didn’t see us.  Okay, I was alive.  That I figured out right away – no blood – no gashes.  Ex-husband seemed alive, but what about my son in the back seat.  Then I heard his two year old voice ask – 

Mom, are we in heaven?

Whew – 

I said no son, we’re still alive.

Other than explaining to my mother why we had wrecked her car, all was well.  Coincidence or good luck? No, it was God’s protection. 

That day, the car hit us – I wonder with all the miles I put on the road driving here and there and everywhere, how many close calls I had that I never knew about.  I also, know that when a car is about to hit me, more than once I’ve just said Jesus (not as a curse word but as a prayer) and within inches, we move right through.

Thank God for His Protection

Joshua 1:9 is probably very familiar to many of us. It’s a raw-raw pep-rally type verse to increase our boldness and courage when facing challenge.  I love the verse; it’s a favourite but the part I love the best is the last line, “for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” It’s reminiscent of Psalm 139, if you go to the height, God is there and if you go to the depths, God is also there. He is our fortress and our ever ready help in times of trouble.

This week on Kingdom Bloggers, we’re remembering God’s protection. As you read along with our stories, why not share your own remembrances in the comments.

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In recent years, I have a couple friends confess their extra-marital affairs, and both were surprised by the grace and lack of judgement I offered. I wish all Christians would receive grace from each other when we confess sin to one another – less people would be condemned to carry shameful secrets and think they are alone. I don’t make a judgement because I know how close anyone can be to making the same mistake. Truly, it is but for the grace and protection of God, go I.

Years ago, when my marriage was rocky, I was Satan’s target. I was easy-picking because at the time my Man was indifferent toward me. Indifference is worse than hatred – at least hatred is passionate. Indifference says, “It doesn’t matter whether you are here or not.”

I needed to matter to someone, and wouldn’t it happen at the time that an ex-boyfriend relocated to town. Several years prior, the relationship had ended because of distance, not because affections ran cold. He contacted me, and we had a coffee date (several, actually). It felt good to be with someone who knew me and liked me and was pleasant toward me. BUT, it never progressed further and I thank the Lord for his protection.

I am against anything that spoils the marriage bed but at the time, I would not have had the strength to resist if my ex-boyfriend made an advance toward me. I believe 100% if I had been involved in infidelity, my Man could not forgive me and our marriage would have been ruined and it would have stained my future opportunities for kingdom ministry.

1 Corinthians 10:13, No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

Without a doubt, God protected me from myself, and our marriage bed is pure.

Because of my experience, I don’t make judgements on others who have fallen. I put boundaries around myself and exercise caution and prudence when dealing with male/female relationships so I will not put myself in the place where I can be tempted like that again.

Now, today I wake

Yes, they were warned to stay away.

But dwelling on that won’t matter now—what’s done is done.

The snake has struck.

 And even now, the poison courses through their veins.

 Beat

After

Venomous

Beat

The heart grows numb.

A blood transfusion is what they need, and only one type will do?—mine.

No.

Not mine.

Please no.

Not mine…

Unless there’s no other way…Okay—let it be mine.

I lay out my flesh to be cut and drained.

I then dreamt of fighting a serpent.

Only it wasn’t a dream. 

Yesterday…or the day before—yes, Friday, I said; “It is done.”

Now today, I wake.

Here in this.

Not my bed, not my room, not my home, but a cold hard slab, in the dark.

My blood now dried, my flesh now healed.

The dark now rolls, and Light revealed.

A Voice I hear.

Well done, My Son—the serpent is dead.

Now they can live.

You’re welcome my friend.

My name is Jesus.

Happy Easter!

Collision at the Cross

There are people who deny the cross has any meaning. They know that Jesus was killed on a cross--that is historical fact--but some believe that the act was a miscarriage of justice against a model of servanthood and integrity, nothing more. Sad that such evil exists in the world, they sigh, but what can you do, except do better and try harder to live up to Jesus’ example and command to love God and others.

But when I read the Gospel accounts--based on eyewitness testimony--and Paul’s Letter to the Colossians, it is clear that something powerful happened on that hill at Calvary beyond human means or reckoning. In Matthew chapter 27, several physical events are described: darkness covers the land from noon to 3, the hours Jesus was on the cross; at the moment of his death, there is an earthquake, rocks split and tombs open; eyewitnesses saw "holy" people who had died raised to life and come out of the tombs; and at the temple in Jerusalem, the veil (curtain) separating the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple was torn from top to bottom. The veil was sixty feet in height and four inches thick. Back at the cross, the Roman centurion and other guards present were terrified as the earthquake hit, and knew instantly that Jesus was no ordinary person: “Surely this was the Son of God!”

In Colossians, my favorite of Paul’s letters, the apostle makes clear what is still murky business for some: the collision at the cross involved more than human agency. There is a clash of Titans, if you will: spiritual forces are battling, and only one side wins.

Paul argues that we must remember who Jesus is: The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities (1:15-16). For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority (Col. 2:9-10).

And then Paul explains that Jesus’ death defeated the very powers and authorities that stood in the way of our freedom to love and be with God: sin and death, which the earth had been cursed with since Satan tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden. When you were dead in your sins ... God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross (2:13-16).

Something happened on a hill two thousand years ago of such power, that those present were shaken--literally. Each of us comes face to face with that same cross when we ask ourselves, “Is Jesus real? Does His death have any meaning for my life today?” Yes, because He lives! “You were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead” (2:12). You don’t have to do better and try harder to be like Jesus: the Author of all life, the Head over all authority and power, gives you the power to live and love freely through faith in Him, through the Holy Spirit!

*The painting is by James Tissot (French, 1836-1902). The Confession of the Centurion (La Confession du Centurion), 1886-1894. Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper. Brooklyn Museum. In the public domain.

My heart is most heavy today because I killed Jesus...

I sincerely apologize for not thinking ahead this week...

For the past several years, I've made a habit of cutting myself off from the many distraction that come with each new day and during the period from Good Friday through Easter Sunday just focus on what it's all really about.

That means internet, television, tablets, blogs, magazines, books and all that other stuff that seems to fill my waking days. Not that all that stuff is necessarily bad or even anti-Jesus, just distracting from what the next few days really represent.

My thoughts today and tomorrow will be borderline narcissistic. Yes. I killed Jesus, and today I will be in deep, deep sorrow and repentant for that fact.

Sunday I will worship with all my heart, all my soul and all my being in celebration that He arose and lives within me today!

May your Easter be richly blessed with God all over it.

In Christ Eternal Love,
Tony C

Selah

סֶלָה

Selah (Hebrew: סֶלָה‎, also transliterated as selāh)…  a word used frequently in the Hebrew Bible, often in the Psalms… is a difficult concept to translate. (It should not be confused with the Hebrew word sela‘ (Hebrew: סֶלַע‎) which means "rock.") Probably used in instructional music or reading a text, as something like "stop and listen". The Amplified Bible states Selah as "pause, and think of that".

Selah, [celah], is from the Hebrew root word [calah] meaning 'to hang,' and by implication to measure (weigh). In Biblical history, money, food and other valuables were 'weighed' by hanging on a type of balance (equivalent of our measuring scale) to determine value." A possible meaning is an instruction to measure... carefully and reflect upon the preceding statements.

We all have heard that the Good News of the Easter Week is Easter Sunday and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, we must weigh that against Good Friday, because without the Crucifixion, there would not be an Easter Sunday. And Friday is Good News…it IS Good Friday.

This year in our church, we are doing a ceremony which was suggested by one of the Worship Team Members. We were each handed out a red slip of paper on Sunday. We have been instructed to write down areas/sins that we continue to struggle with. A Member is building a literal cross. After we each have a “selah” moment, we will approach the Cross, one by one ,nail our private concern it to the cross. For me, having an exercise like this, holds deep meaning. 

When I was young, we celebrated the Holy Week. Looking back, the day that had the biggest impact on me was Holy Saturday. The starkness of the day and the silence in the air cause me to contemplate certain things. I can still picture the life sized statue of Jesus, lying in the tomb, in church on Saturday. I didn’t honor the statue (as some might think I did) rather for me, it was a visual reminder. It helped me to “take in” what and who it represented.

Jesus died and all of heaven seemed silenced.

Imagine for a minute, being part of Jesus’ inner crowd. What were they thinking? They most likely hiding, not just as a group, but hiding what was in each of their hearts. Some probably talked a lot; as they tried to process what had happened to their leader…others may have found a corner to feel the fear and confusion. Did they think they were next?

Where would Saturday have found you?

Don’t we have Saturday experiences all throughout our walk with the Lord? We follow our Lord and try to absorb all that He is pouring into our lives.  We may try not to but don't we envision how things will unfold. We may have a hope…a picture, as to how it is all going to “come down”

Then, we are left with a deafening silence. Nothing makes sense. We are fear filled. We want to run. We may regret our allegiance to the Lord. Yet, we agree with the Apostle Peter when we say…” Lord, where else would we go?”

Our Easter Week consists of a chance to reflect 

...on a Friday that we know is truly GOOD.

…on a Sunday that holds the ultimate hope and victory.

…as well as a Saturday, where we must pause and reflect.We must stop and think and believe that the One we have been following does not lie. We may be left with an uncertainty of what just happened. Like the disciples, we are not privy to the glory that lies just ahead.

No matter what…an essential aspect of our belief, is not only receiving the message of the Cross… which is the plumb line of  our belief as Christians… to knowing what the disciples did not know, that the Cross was not the end of the story.

So too with us…a Friday may have happened…a Saturday is where we find ourselves, yet knowing by faith…a Sunday, with life and light… resurrection and victory WILL come!

Linda Maynard

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A side note…It has given me such a thrill to hear my three year old grandson singing his heart out this past week…” Is Jesus dead…NO WAY!!!...He’s alive…He’s alive!!!...Is Jesus dead? NO WAY!!!”…He’s alive!!! He’s alive!!!” Yes Jonah…He IS alive!