Peacemakers pt. 2

A peacemaker does not always have the solution that will solve every situation, but they are prepared to meet you with compassion that takes the edge off of the circumstance you are in. They are not pretentious, saying things just to be saying them, but protective. Your heart is a treasure to them, so rather than piercing it with the poison of hurtful, spiteful, damaging words, they season their words with grace.

They speak truth in love. 

They trust the Lord..........a lot.........and believe that He can say and reveal what they cannot.

If you know a peacemaker, you know that they know how to love unconditionally, embracing those around them with their intuitive nature.

It is easier to be a peacemaker if you know the One who is called Peace! And if you hang out with His friends you will enjoy the fruit of peace as they influence you with His sweet nature.

I grew up in a very dysfunctional home. I never knew when the last straw would be broken and all you know what would break loose. It was terrifying, but I had never known anything different.......I had never really experienced the joy of living in peaceful versus volatile surroundings.

Scotty and I had been married about a month and we were getting ready for church one Sunday morning. I began to cry rather loudly for him to hurry and come! He ran to me, ready to take on the bear that must have come in the window. He soon realized that there wasn't a bear,  only tears........I was overwhelmed. I felt peace, real peace for the first time in my life. My heart could rest in my home, unafraid that there would be disaster if someone said or did the wrong thing. I could breathe.....really breathe, because I lived with a peacemaker.

"Blessed.....enjoying enviable happiness, spiritually prosperous [that is with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions].....are the makers and maintainers of peace, for they shall be called the sons of God!"

Peace~

Cheri 

Peacemakers

Peace is like a newborn that is sleeping, a sunrise breaking through the night, a rest that settles after a bout with strife.  Peace. It is knowing that a promise spoken will be kept by the promising one. It is rest, trust, believing that you are loved, knowing that the one who loves you is faithful. 

Peace cannot be bought or sold, only given, made, and maintained. 

Matthew 5:9~

"Blessed....enjoying enviable happiness, spiritually prosperous [that is, with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions] are the makers and maintainers of peace, for they shall be called the sons of God!"

Making peace when there is strife. Helping to settle the air instead of stirring the pot. Bringing hope instead of despair. It is they who make peace. They willingly and conscientiously make an effort to help in the matter at hand. To bring life to it, help to it, settle it. 

Sometimes it is leading them to Jesus. 

Ephesians 2:14~ "For He Himself is our peace....."

Sometimes it is reconciling the hurting. 

Sometimes it is silencing the accusing.

Sometimes it is reminding of promises.

Mending the broken.

Lifting the needy.

Surrendering a will.

Believing and walking in faith..........

.......to be continued.....

Love ya,

Cheri

 

Mr. Mercy

Have you ever had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Mercy.

I call him "Mercy on two feet!" 

I have been blessed to have the acquaintance of this man and over the years

I have gotten to know him very well. I would love to introduce you!

The Lord loves mercy! In the Holy of Holies, the Lord dwelt between the cherubim on a seat of mercy. So in the holiest place on earth, mercy was present. God rested on it. Mercy is a place where God finds rest! 

Matthew 5:7~

"Blessed........happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous [that is, with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions].......are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy!"

I love mercy! I love Mr. Mercy. I love him so much that I married him. The Lord knew that I would need lots and lots of mercy so he put a merciful man in my life that I fell head over heals in love with. Sometimes his abundance of mercy drives me crazy! Not when he is merciful with me, not ever! But sometimes the length he will go and the pain he will endure for others, well for someone like me, it can be very annoying and disturbing!

But the Lord LOVES mercy! He is generous with mercy, being faithful to give us new mercy everyday! And He finds rest on a heart that is full of mercy.

I made a decision a long time ago that it would be better to err on the side of mercy rather than justice. So I have been taking lessons from Mr. Mercy and have been learning to walk in this amazing gift. You probably wouldn't call me Mrs. Mercy, yet, but the Lord and I are working on it. 

I recently visited the new Billy Graham library in Charlotte, NC (a must see) and saw the grave of Ruth Graham. On her tombstone are inscribed these words, "Construction project finished, thank you for your patience."

Well, I am still under construction, but there has been progress. Mr. Mercy has been praying for me for years!!!!!  I so desire a heart that is full of mercy because I want a heart where the Lord can rest. I don't want a heart that He is constantly having to wrestle with, but a heart where He settles and calls home. A heart that has a throne ready for Him, a throne called "Mercy". Because of His mercy and because of my desire I believe He is hastening the process and has already found His place to abide in me.

Now that is mercy!

Lord Jesus, thank you for mercy! You give mercy generously and abundantly! It pleases You to give it. Let me have a heart like Yours that is generous with this beautiful gift of mercy. Let my heart be a seat of mercy for You, so that I will overflow with mercy. Help me to realize the vast amount of mercy that You have poured out on my life so that I might be ready and willing to extend mercy to those You bring into my life who need this demonstration of love. Find Your rest in my heart today. I love you! Amen!

Because of His mercy!

Cheri

Being Filled

Dark curls framed the little cherub's face as she slept on the beggar's lap on the side of a very busy, filthy street in Bangalore, India. Her little white dress was dirty and torn and yet I am sure she had the wings of an angel attached to her. The beggar seemed to hold his breath afraid that he might jolt her from the sleep that hid her coffee brown eyes and had captured her hungry little body away for just a bit of time. He carefully cradled her, looking down at her, protecting her from so many dangers that surrounded them. She was his treasure. His eyes exposed his tenderness for her. 

I was with a group that was spending a day of shopping in Bangalore. We had ministered every day for nearly two weeks, so now we were taking a respite in this great city. 

Beggars fill the city of Bangalore. They are as frequent and as thick as the dirt in the air. Every turn you make, you will find yourself in the face of one. Usually they have a baby in tow. A baby is good for business. The boss gets richer with an infant or toddler aged child in the picture. The beggar and the baby do not often belong together but are joined just for business purposes. Babies are just props that are good for production. They can be purchased for little of nothing and they bring in the money. Who can resist the hungry eyes of a baby?

She stirs now.  He moves her to the sidewalk and nestles in front of a business. They have been chased from this storefront many times before. There is nowhere else to go. He must protect her. The sun is hot. Here they will find shade. She is all of eighteen month or so. No one has counted her days since birth. No one cares. 

 

We see them and head straight to them. Immediately they both cup their hands and touch their lips with their fingers. This means they are hungry. They beg for mercy. Many will give money to them. We give small coins. We have a box of cookies that we have purchased from a nearby bakery. We open the plastic container and hand it to the little girl. She eats, and eats, and eats until every cookie is gone. She does not share, he does not mind. Then she licks the container. . She will not rest until every last morsel fills her.

The beggar, a little boy, all of seven or eight, lets her eat her fill. He is so grateful that her stomach will have rest from the wrenching pain of hunger. We give them water. They drink their fill. We find something for him to eat as well.

We cannot be here tomorrow, so we pray that the Lord will send help to these desperate children. We leave them behind, our hearts breaking, wanting to bring them home with us.

Hunger.

Hunger is painful. Thirst is as well. 

They will drive you to get what you need. 

You will enjoy what you get!

Matthew 5:6~

"Blessed and fortunate and happy and spiritually prosperous [that is, in that state in which the born-again child of God enjoys His favor and salvation] are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God) for they shall be completely satisfied!"

I have also seen spiritual hunger.

I have friends that I met in Sri Lanka that are so hungry to see the Lord move in their nation that they rise in the wee hours of morning (one or two o'clock) to pray and worship together. They pray for revival to come to their land and they are seeing miracles.

Another friend that lives much closer to home, sets her alarm for 3 a.m. so that she can spend one full hour with the Lord, worshiping, listening, waiting, upon Him. She sits ready with pen and paper handy so that when He speaks she is prepared. She explained that there are so many daily distractions that steal from her quiet, listening moments with the Lord. She has yet to get a call in the middle of the night during this set aside time with her God. He is faithful to meet her there!

The little beggar and his cherub were starving and in pain with physical hunger. My friends are hungry for God and are as desperate as those children to be filled so they look for ways to feast in His presence. And He provides. The Lord sets a marvelous table presenting  a feast prepared for kings! Delicacies created just for you to enjoy!

The time that they spend with Him does not make them more righteous, they just enjoy His righteousness more. They are "completely satisfied!" just like the little girl who licked the cookie box clean. They enjoy every minute of it.

Knowing these kind of people stirs a hunger in me. I see more of Jesus in them and it makes me want more of Him in me. It causes pain. A restlessness. A longing to be filled.

There is a promise in verse 6, if you hunger, you will be filled.......not you could be, or you might be.........no! You will be filled!

I saw three baby birds one day in a nest on our front porch. One little bird never shut his mouth, he sat perched with it wide open hoping that his momma was going to come and put something juicy in it. The other two babies were whimpering and chirping but not ready when the momma came with her catch. The one that had their mouth open got the feast! The two little whimpering birds learned from the one who was ready and the next time the momma flew to her nest, all three of them were ready with open mouths. All three were filled!

So today I wait, hoping for a mouthful! I am hungry! How about you?

Waiting to be filled!

Cheri

ps. Ephesians 5:18~

"Do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit."

In the original Greek this verse says: "be being filled". We must continue to be filled with His Spirit.

Prayer Request

Dear Friends~

I would like to ask you to pray for our family today and through the coming week. There has been a death. My cousin's youngest boy, Brant (18), was killed in a vehicle accident last night. Brant's mother was killed in a vehicle accident nearly 10 years ago. This is a devastating blow to my cousin Rande and the whole family. Rande and his family are Christians. Please, please pray for all of us!

Thank you,

Cheri

Melanie

Have you ever watched the movie "Gone With the Wind"?

Am I the only heathen here? 

The character Melanie in the movie beautifully illustrates meekness.

It would appear that Scarlett O'Hara is the strong one.

Melanie might appear weak in every way while Scarlett presses on to get what she wants.

Melanie has a sweet disposition. She always looks out for the other guy. She never seems to notice the weaknesses or blatant failures or abuses of others. Her love for others always covers a multitude of sins. She is always in control of her spirit. 

The Complete Word Study of the New Testament defines meekness this way:

"the meek ones are willing to see themselves as they really are."

The meek ones lean so heavily on God for strength that soon their humility is their strength. They know that apart from the Lord they are absolutely wretched, so they rely wholly upon Him to bring about right actions. 

I often act more like Scarlett. 

I am selfish and I want my way. 

I am more concerned with my own desires than those of others.

Greed and self interest motivate me to work very hard to get what I want.

However, Melanie is the beautiful cameo that I would love to portray in life.

She is gentle, kind, in control of her spirit. Her passions do not rule her. She loves genuinely and deeply. She considers others more important than herself. She is beautiful. She portrays a beautiful strength that can only come from the holiness and beauty of God.

Jesus walked in meekness on this earth. Meekness not weakness.

Vine's Concise Dictionary of the Bible defines meekness this way:

"it consists not on a persons outward behavior only; nor yet in his relations to his fellow-men; as little in his mere disposition. Rather it is an inwrought grace of the soul; and the exercises of it are first and chiefly towards God. It is that temper of spirit in which we accept His dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting.........it is closely linked to the word for humility."

And:

"It must be clearly understood, therefore, that the meekness manifested by the Lord and commended to the believer is the fruit of power. The common assumption is that when a man is meek it is because he cannot help himself; but the Lord was "meek" because he had the infinite resources of God at His command. Described negatively, meekness is the opposite to self-assertiveness and self-interest; it is equanimity of spirit that is neither elated nor cast down, simply because it is not occupied with self at all."

So, after reading that, this "Scarlett" must find a place on her face. I will not be satisfied until I can rise up in His likeness of meekness.

Matthew 5:5 (five is the number of grace : ) )

"Blessed.....happy, blithesome, joyous, spiritually prosperous [that is, with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions].......are the meek (the mild, patient, long-suffering), for they shall inherit the earth!"

Blessings,

Cheri

Living Blessed

For the next few days I will be examining the Beatitudes. It will be a journey. I hope you will join me. Expect adventure. 

Matthew 5:4~

"Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted."

I have been chewing on this verse for days. Blessing and mourning seems like an oxymoron to me.

Let's look at the Amplified:

"Blessed and enviably happy, [with a happiness produced by experience of God's favor and especially conditioned by the revelation of His matchless grace] are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."

The Complete Word Study New Testament defines mourning this way:

"They that mourn.....are those who sorrow for their sins and the sins of others."

So if sin breaks your heart then you are blessed. Your sin, my sin, other's sins.......does it break your heart? Then the Lord will bless you!

Imagine how Jesus feels when we sin. He must think, "I died to free them from that trap of death and yet they continue to walk in it." 

Sin is a heart-breaker. When we are broken because we have sinned, there will be healing. It is a promise. Comfort will come. Sorrow will leave. We will feel the favor of God on our lives. Our happiness will be enviable. 

A man after God's own heart cried out: 

"My sacrifice [the sacrifice acceptable] to God is a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart [broken down with sorrow for sin and humbly and thoroughly penitent] such, O God, You will not despise." (Psalm 51)

One time I was walking in the Rocky Mountains with a dear friend. I found a rock in the shape of a heart. There was a broken line right across the middle of it. I was going through such a cleansing fire at the time. I told my friend that the rock I found was like my heart. Her reply was that the Lord did not want to break our hearts through pain and suffering; He would rather do it some other way, but He will use what will work. He wants us to walk in blessing. He will do what it takes to get us to a place where we can be blessed.

Are you in the midst of a cleansing fire? Surrender. He will comfort you. 

Do you know others that are drowning in their sins? Does it break your heart? Have you wept for them? Have you shared the suffering of the Lord's heart for them? He will comfort you!

Sin always causes God sorrow. It always grieves Him. He never laughs at it. He never enjoys it. He is always hurt by it. His Son gave everything so that we wouldn't have to die in our sins. How do we respond to it?

Our response determines our outcome.........blessed or not? Comforted or not? We decide.

Loving and merciful God, thank you for taking away our sins. Thank you for burying them in the deepest sea and forgetting where You put them. Thank you for setting us free! Thank you for the joy of our deliverance. Continue to deliver us from evil. And for those that we love that are choosing a life of bondage, we grieve with You! Deliver them, O Lord, and bring them into a life where there is light on their path and hope in their hearts. We will rejoice when we see them in the light of Your glory! Open their eyes now and let them see Your great salvation!

Because You live there is hope! Amen!

Because He lives!

Cheri

Teaching Multitudes

Jesus found a multitude of hungry people. 

People that were hungry for truth. Matthew 5 tells about it.

Jesus sat down, opened His mouth and began to fill them with truth.

Listen to this beautiful promise:

"Blessed...........happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous [that is,

with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of

their outward conditions].......are the poor in spirit (the humble, rating themselves

insignificant), for theirs is the kingdom of heaven! (Amplified)

There is a whole sermon in that one verse. 

Was Jesus commending them?

Exhorting them?

I think He knew that these words would be written down for us. The message was not

spoken just for the crowd that was seated before Him. It was spoken for us as well.

I would like to quote Bob Sorge from his wonderful life changing book: In His Face.

"Christians are easily tempted to compare themselves with other Christians. Using the terminology of Jesus' parable in Matthew 25:14-30, the two-talent guy looks at the one-talent guy and feels a little bit superior. But then the two-talent guy looks at the five-talent guy, and suddenly feels very inferior. As long as we allow ourselves to compare ourselves with others, we will have constant struggles with our self-image. We'll be torn between the extremes of pride and insecurity. The Scriptures constantly urge us to keep our focus on Jesus.

Look at yourself and you'll see an earthen vessel and get depressed. Look at other people and you'll either get arrogant or discouraged. Look at Jesus and you'll flourish in the radiance of His face."

When we are looking at Jesus we find that we are "spiritually prosperous with life-joy and satisfaction". So today I am focusing in on the One who is so full of rich life promises. I feel as if I have been in His audience on the mountain. He has spoken directly to me.

How has this amazing verse spoken to you today?

I always love hearing from you!

Blessings,

Cheri

The Impossible

It seems to me that the Lord loves it when we encounter impossible situations. Have you come upon a Red Sea experience lately? Have you arrived at a place where only the Lord in His sovereignty can bring you through? 

We have many opportunities in life to see the mighty hand of God at work. He loves to prove that "nothing is too difficult" for Him! 

There are troubles that seem to want to swallow us whole, melt us in the furnace of affliction, baptize us in despair, "but God!" (Ephesians 2:4) What does God want to do when we are in these crisis situations?

Praise! Yes, praise Him! You will never find a moment in time when the Lord is not worthy of our praise. No matter what conflict, circumstance, or discomfort we find ourselves in, He remains the same! Creator of the universe! Savior of our souls! Deliverer! Mighty God! Holy!

And always and forever worthy of all praise!

A friend shared a scripture with me yesterday that I am going to commit to memory.

Psalm 50:23~

"He who sacrifices thank offerings honors Me and prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God."

It is often a sacrifice for our flesh to praise the Lord when our hearts are heavy! It takes effort on our part to turn our eyes upon the one who holds the universe in the span of His hand instead of looking at our circumstance. Oh, but there is reward for getting our eyes set in the right direction!

When we offer the Lord thanks in the hard times and honor Him in the midst of troubles He promises to show us His salvation! He will save us out of our troubles! He will reveal Himself to us and provide for us! He is able and willing to split Red Seas so that we can walk not only to dry land but on dry land through the Sea! 

We will never be missing the mark when we are in an attitude of praise! He will always be listening to the one who is praising Him! 

My grandpa loved to hear me sing. When I was growing up, I would go to my grandparent's house where they would turn off the TV, grandma would play the piano and I would sing. And sing. And sing. Grandpa would listen! The whole time!!!!!

Later in life, whenever grandpa would hear me in a choir, leading the children's choir, even singing in a congregation with him seated many pews away he would always say, "Cheri, I heard you singing today!" 

(If you are a singer, you know that it isn't always good to be heard when others are singing with you!) No matter how far apart we were or how many other voices were involved, grandpa always told me that he heard my voice.

That is how our heavenly Father is. He listens for your voice of praise. No matter how many others are praising Him at the same time, He is listening and enjoying your praise!!!!!

Now, no matter what we go through today, girls, let's give Him praise! 

He is listening for you!

Lovingly,

Cheri

Why So Special?

Today I want to share the devotion that I read this morning. It is based on Job 7 :17-18:

 

"What is man, that You should exalt him, that You should set  Your heart on him, that

you should visit him every morning, and test him every moment?"

Devotion: 

God visits us with mercy every morning. Before we are awake He is at work in the world, baptizing it with dew, feeding the birds and wild things, taking pleasure in the jasmine and the heliotrope, the honeysuckle, and the rose; and with all His care for His world, He does not forget man, whom He has placed there to be its tenant......

But probably Job meant that God visits us in discipline, training, education. He is the watcher of men; not to detect their failures, but to discover opportunities of leading them on to richer, fuller experiences of His grace and life. Surely, as we consider all the time and pains which God has expended on us, we too may cry, with the patriarch, "What is man?" Man is more than we guess, else God would never take such time and pains with him. When a lapidary spends years over a single diamond, the most careless observer begins to appraise properly its intrinsic value. 

Every morning God visits thee, with holy thoughts and warnings, with miracles and parables, with anticipations and forecasts........oh realize how much thou art to Him; give Him love, thanks and loving recognition, a child's welcome and trust.  F. B. Meyer

There is a present waiting for us every morning. It is a big package of mercy. Have you opened your package of mercy today?

Dear Lord, thank You for Your loving kindness today. How beautiful is Your mercy. Thank you for setting Your heart on me today. When I think of who You are and who I am, I am humbled in Your presence. Thank you for being so wonderful! Amen

He is thinking about you right this minute! 

Me, too!

Cheri

Expectation

There is an expectancy in my spirit today.

This morning I read in Matthew 4,

"The  people who sat (dwelt, enveloped) in darkness have seen a great Light, and for those who sat in the land and the shadow of death Light has dawned."

The "Light" that this verse is speaking of is Jesus! The people of that land had sat wrapped in worldly darkness for a long, long time. The darkness in this verse is referred to as "the shadow of death". 

There was great hope because Jesus had entered that dwelling of darkness. He came as light to invade that great abyss of hopelessness and despair.

When God created the world He said, "Let there be light and there was light."

God let there be Light in this forsaken land of Zebulun and Naphtali. 

Jesus was the One who cried, "Let there be" in Matthew 4 because His words in the very next verse (17) begin with, "repent!" 

I love the definition that the Amplified version of the Bible gives for repentance:

"that is, change your mind for the better, heartily amend your ways, with abhorrence of your past sins.........for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

In other words, "Let there be Light in your life!"

We have a choice.

How desperately He wants us to choose Light over darkness. He calls us out of our tomb and invites us to walk in resurrection life!

There is sunshine in my town today after days and days and days of rain.

It is so inviting to see the dawn of a sunshiny day. My soul is dancing and full of energy ready to run!

The sweet Lord is illustrating these wonderful verses to me. What an amazing God!

So I am expecting to see the Light in my day.........all day! 

Should the sun find more clouds to crawl behind, I will remain in the Light of His glory. I will be listening for His voice that leads and directs and points to a life of freedom. I will expect to see His fingerprints everywhere I go because the Light of the universe has so graciously called me to a day in the Light!

With anticipation!

Cheri 

Knowing Him

In the very beginning I was drawn to my husband because of his sense of humor. I thought he was the cutest thing on two feet! When I got to know him better, I realized he was not really trying to be funny. He is just naturally comical. There have been times in our marriage when I wasn't sure that I should keep laughing or begin to cry over his amazing personality. 

I have gotten to know Scotty on many levels through our life together. He is so interesting. 

Not to long ago we went through a season that was extremely difficult for our family. It was in this season that Scotty demonstrated the love of Jesus to me like no one else ever had. He loved unconditionally, was firm, but kind, merciful, patient. He was amazing! He was such an example to me and to the rest of our family. I got to know my husband at a whole new level through the trial we were experiencing.

I have gotten to know the Lord at many different levels. First I knew Him as Savior. He became my salvation when I was nine years old. Through the years He has been many different things to me. Helper, restorer, deliverer, mentor, teacher, giver. He has been kind, trustworthy, faithful, determined, patient, hope,  my peace. Joy! He has been life to me! He has been everything to me! 

I have known Jesus on so many levels, at so many stages, and in so many circumstances. My favorite way of knowing Him is as my friend. He is my best friend. He knows and understands me even when I don't understand myself.  He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. He is a friend that will be faithful to the end. He will never leave me or forsake me. He will never lie to me, steal from me, or condemn  me. He is on my side. He wants me to succeed and not fail. He is for me and not against me. He will bless and encourage me all of my days. He will not change. He will be just as He is FOREVER! He is not ever going to change His mind about our relationship! We are in this thing for the long haul! Eternity!

I am so thankful to know Him! Do you know Him as friend?

Blessings,

Cheri

Hind's Feet

I love Habakkuk 3:19 from the Amplified version:

"The Lord God is my strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army; He makes my feet like hinds' feet, and will make me to walk, not to stand still in terror, but to walk and make spiritual progress upon my high places of trouble, suffering, or responsibility."

This is my meditation for today.

Glory!

Cheri

Justified

"As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us." Psalm 103:12

The word justified means, "just as if I had never sinned". 

My life is now hidden in Christ and the Father can no longer see my wretchedness but only His holiness.

This humbles me. 

I deserve punishment. I receive grace.

I deserve justice. I receive mercy.

I deserve nothing less than death, but I am given new life.

I love that the Lord would be so generous to me. I am so thankful. I rejoice in my salvation.

I am a receiver needing to be a giver.

The Lord has been wrestling with me all night. It is this very issue that He has brought to light in the wee hours of morning. My heart has been exposed. It has caused great despair.

When others offend, annoy, frustrate me..........I do not treat them with grace. I do not treat them as if they had never sinned against me. I don't easily release past offenses. There are certain people that were destined to be an irritant in my life. Sandpaper. Ughhh!!!!!

There was victory at the end of our match this morning. The Lord won. True to His nature He awarded me the prize. Grace.  He has given me grace to let them go. He has given me grace to begin again. He has given me grace to forgive myself.

There will be more sandpaper moments. There will be grace to treat those who offend with grace and mercy. I trust that He has made me rich in this. I will choose to walk in it.

Justified!!!!!

Cheri

Prized Possession

Have you met Volle? (pictured with her daughter)

She lives in the slums of Bangalore, India. 

I met her two years ago. We are sisters in Christ. 

There were so many beautiful women of God that I met while I was there. Women love Jesus with such a passion in that country. It was a humbling experience for me. I came home with an earnestness and even a desperation to know my Jesus more.

Volle is a paid servant for the pastor's wife of the church that we served. Her home is in the slums across the street from the church.

I was introduced to her on my first trip to India. She speaks very little English, but she graciously took my hand, looked me in the eye and asked, "You have Jesus?"

I took her hand in mine and said, "Yes! Yes, I have Jesus!"

Our lives are so different. My home looks like a mansion compared to the one her family lives in. She walks almost everywhere she goes. She does not have material treasures. 

Yet we have something in common. That one thing will bind us for eternity! Jesus!

Meeting Volle impacted my life beyond words. She would never envy the riches that I have because I live in this country. She knows she has it all! She has Jesus! What more could one want? She never dreams of coming here. Her sights are set much higher. There is a better place than the United States to dream about.  

Her faith is to be envied. She prays for the impossible and believes that her  God will provide for her. And He does! He provides in amazing ways! She expects Him to.

Out of all the people that I met on my first trip to India, Volle was the one that I most desired to see again when I returned in February of this year. 

My second trip to India was so special. I felt as if I had returned to family. 

I spent a lot of time with Volle. I could not always understand her words. She could not comprehend mine. Sometimes we had an interpreter. I can tell you that we shared something more special than words.....His name is Jesus. 

He was right in the midst of us. 

He says, "Where two are three of you are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of you!"

He was right there in the midst of us. I couldn't help but linger with her because His presence was so special.

I can hardly wait to introduce her to you. I know that you have probably dreamed of the day when you will meet Esther, Ruth, Mary, Anna, Lydia, and other women that we have so loved and been inspired by from the Word of God. Please add  Volle to your list. You will not want to miss her!!!! Oh, and when you get to heaven, if you cannot spot her, just look for me. I am sure that she and I will be before the Lord's throne hand in hand worshiping together.  

Lord, please bless Volle and her family today. Speak to her heart. Encourage her. Let your fingerprints be seen in her life this day as she worships You. Thank You for my sister! She has impacted me for eternity! Amen!

Because He Lives!

Cheri

ps. Volle is alive and well as far as I know. I just don't know if I will ever get to see her again this side of heaven. I look forward to our next reunion whenever, however, and wherever that might be.

Souls

I recently enjoyed an editorial in The Pentecostal Evangel called A Model For Revival by Ken Horn. The article speaks of the Welsh revival of the early 1900's in which an estimated 100,000 souls were saved. Two men in Wales began to bow in humility before God and ask, "Lord, bend me." That became the theme of the revival of that day.

Soon they were pleading with the Lord for 100,000 souls. 

I was wondering if the Lord was thinking, "Ask for more! Believe for more! Pray for more!"

There are two quotes that the author of the article shares.

"Nothing sets a person so much out of the devil's reach as humility." (Jonathan Edwards)

"Water always fills the lowest places first. The lower.......a man lies before God, the speedier and the fuller the inflow of the divine glory will be." (Andrew Murray)

Today I am asking the Lord to bend me.

My second request is that He will give me souls! I am asking for 100,000 plus because I do not want to set a cap on it. 

Would you like to see revival? 

I know revival begins with one heart that is prostrate before the Lord. 

When others join the one, many will come into the Kingdom. I believe that nations can be saved.

Would you like to join my prayer for 100,000 plus souls? 

There is power in agreement.

Nothing is too difficult for our God!

Believing with you!

Cheri

Not My Will

I am beginning to notice that I have a strong will. 

A strong will has been helpful many times in my life.

It has helped me to endure, persevere, press into my God.

At times this will of mine is a great enemy to me. It demands it's way! 

Stomps it's foot and echos with shouts inside of me, "It's not fair!" 

I am sure that Jesus had moments when He wanted to tell the world,

"It's not fair! What is wrong with you?" But He didn't! He didn't speak to

the world about it. He took it all to His Father. 

Soon there would be resolve in His soul....."Not My will, but Yours, Father."

A surrendered will. A yielded heart. A life that is willing to bow before the Lord and

say, "Your way! I desire Your way!"

A heart yielded to the Father is a great joy to Him. When we obey Him, we embrace Him. Our obedience brings a fellowship that is so sweet. His smile rests on a surrendered life. 

The Lord will always say, "Amen" to our prayers when we are praying His will. Sometimes when I am praying, I ask myself, "Am I going to hear Him say amen to this?" If not then I must change what I am praying for. 

His will is best......everytime. His "amen" is powerful. I am listening for His "amen" to my prayer today! I hear it when I pray that He will bless you!

Amen!

Cheri