Our part is the trusting, it is His to accomplish the results. And when we do our part, He never fails to do His, for no one ever trusted in the Lord and was confounded. Do not be afraid, then, that if you trust, or tell others to trust, the matter will end there.

Trust is only the beginning and the continual foundation; when we trust, the Lord works, and His work is the important part of the whole matter. And this explains that apparent paradox which puzzles so many. They say, "In one breath you tell us to do nothing but trust, and in the next you tell us to do impossible things. How can you reconcile such contradictory statements?"

They are to be reconciled just as we reconcile the statements concerning a saw in a carpenter's shop, when we say at one moment that the saw has sawn asunder a log, and the next moment declare that the carpenter has done it. The saw is the instrument used, the power that uses it is the carpenter's. And so we, yielding ourselves unto God, and our members as instruments of righteousness unto Him, find that He works in us to will and to do of His good pleasure; and we can say with Paul, "I labored; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." For we are to be His workmanship, not our own. (Eph. 2:10.)

And in fact, when we come to look at it, only God, who created us at first, can re-create us, for He alone understands the "work of His own hands." All efforts after self-creating, result in the marring of the vessel, and no soul can ever reach its highest fulfillment except through the working of Him who "works all things after the counsel of His own will." 

What will He do through you today?  Michael

In 2006, Charles Moore lost his job as a roofer in Toledo, Ohio, and decided to return to his hometown of Detroit to look for work. He couldn’t find a job, however, and soon found himself homeless. In July, while looking through a trash bin for bottles, Moore found thirty-one U.S. Savings Bonds. With the help of the Neighborhood Service Organization, a local nonprofit group, Moore tracked down the owner of the bonds, Ernest Lehto, who had bought the bonds during the 1980s at a face value of $8,900. By the time Moore found them, the bonds were worth $20,738. Ernest Lehto died in 2004, but Moore returned the bonds to his son, Neil Lehto. For his honesty and effort, Moore was given $100. He was thankful for the money.

When local media picked up the story, however, Neil Lehto began receiving phone calls and emails from angry people calling him cheap and ungrateful. Lehto, a lawyer, blamed his eighty-two-year-old mother, saying that she was the sole beneficiary and had determined the reward amount. “That generation of people would consider $100 to be an adequate reward,” he said.

Now aware of Moore’s need, the community began to support the homeless man. One man sent him eight trash bags filled with bottle returns and a bowl of coins. Jesse Nyikon, a local billiards owner, offered Moore a night on the town, complete with food, drinks, and unlimited pool. As the story began to grow, so did the number of people expressing gratitude for Moore’s integrity. Dick Wolski and Ken Zorn — two businessmen from Troy, Michigan — pulled together a gift of $1,200. They also paid for $250 worth of clothing at Men’s Wearhouse. Best of all, they lined him up with a job interview at a local cleaning company.

“Here’s a man who by all rights should be worried and thinking about himself but who takes the time to think about others,” Wolski said. “What a lesson! Isn’t that what we’re all supposed to be doing?”

Amen.  Michael

As lunch ended in the ornate United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee conference room, Senator Jesse Helms stood to bid farewell to the guest of honor: U2 singer Bono.

Bono stayed at the conservative patriarch’s right hand, doing what he could to help. For the photographers, it would have been hard to imagine a stranger image than this delicate dance between the aging senator and the rock superstar.

“You know, I love you,” Helms said softly.

The singer gave Helms a hug. This private session with a circle of senators during U2’s recent Washington stop wasn’t the first time Bono and Helms have discussed poverty, plagues, charity, and faith. Nor will it be the last. Blest be the ties that bind.

“What can I say? It’s good to be loved — especially by Jesse Helms,” Bono said two days later, as his campaign for Third World debt relief continued on Capitol Hill.

Bono can quote the book of Leviticus as well as the works of John Lennon. While his star power opens doors, it is his sincere, if often unconventional, Christian faith that creates bonds with cultural conservatives in the Vatican and inside the Beltway. Bono has shared prayers and his sunglasses with Pope John Paul II.

Never underestimate what God can accomplish and who He can bring together.  Michael.

In an interview with Lee Strobel, Peter Kreeft concludes that the answer to suffering is not an answer at all. “It’s the Answerer,” says Kreeft. “It’s Jesus himself. It’s not a bunch of words, it’s the Word. It’s not a tightly woven philosophical argument; it’s a person. The person.

The answer to suffering cannot just be an abstract idea, because this isn’t an abstract issue; it’s a personal issue. It requires a personal response. The answer must be someone, not just something, because the issue involves someone asking God, where are you?”

Be Jesus to someone today.  Michael

God wants people to know Him. If He preferred anonymity, He would not have orchestrated the writing of a multi-author book about Himself. But Bible reading is just a first step. Knowing about God is different than knowing God. Anyone can learn a few facts about Him, but only a dedicated believer takes the time and energy to be His friend.

First, we learn about the Lord from His Word. By reading the Bible, believers begin to accumulate facts about God’s character, principles, and ways of operating. Unfortunately, churches are full of men and women who stop at this step. They know a lot of religion but cannot share faith.

The second step is to meditate on Scripture. That means thinking about God’s words and allowing the Holy Spirit to interpret them.

Finally, we must apply what we learn. Suppose you read Psalm 46:1 which says, “God is a very present help in times of trouble.” Then, when trouble shows up, you rely on Him for help. When He answers—and He will answer, although not always as expected—you learn something: God helps you by responding to your trust and dependence with a custom-made solution to your problem.

God wants to know you.  Return the Favor.  Michael

As believers, we sometimes hear wrong information about temptation. For instance, many people believe that feeling tempted is sinful. But Jesus was tempted by Satan in the desert. (Matthew 4:1) If the Lord remained righteous after being encouraged to do wrong, then temptation itself cannot be a sin. We must guard against false ideas that could disrupt our ability to stand strong.

The truth about temptation is that it’s an enticement to take our God-given desires beyond God-given limits. We all feel the pull of our natural, sinful selves to do and think things that are immoral. In this lifetime, we will never be so mature or spiritually minded that we can relax our vigilance. Satan will always try to capitalize on our weakness and selfish desires.

Trust that good desire in your heart.  Michael

Think back to the day that you received
Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. Would
you say that you have been growing spiritually
since then? Or do you perhaps find
yourself a little stagnant? Second Peter 3:18
instructs us to “grow in the grace and
knowledge of our Lord and Savior” because
the victorious Christian life depends upon
understanding God’s ways.
Most people are satisfied to know how
the Lord acts because they are interested
primarily in what He is going to do for
them. Of course we all delight in His blessings
of provision, healing, and deliverance.
But God didn’t create mankind just as
an audience to witness His awesome
power—He could have demonstrated it
to the angels, if that had been His purpose.
Instead, He created us to know Him as
a person and to develop a growing, intimate
relationship with Him. For this reason,
God desires to unveil His ways to us—
then we will understand why He acts as He
does and why He allows some situations
that cause suffering and heartache.

He is speaking in your life.  Are you listening?