Not Just Any Bible

NOT JUST ANY BIBLE

“Can anyone hide out in a corner where I can't see him, declares Yahweh. Am
I not present everywhere, whether seen or unseen?” Jeremiah 23:24

In the 1930's Stalin ordered a purge of all Bibles and all believers. In
Stavropol, Russia, this order was carried out with a vengeance. Thousands
of Bibles were confiscated, and multitudes of believers were sent to the
gulags (prison camps) where most died for being 'enemies of the state.'

We once sent a team to Stavropol. The city’s history wasn't known at that
time. But when the team was having difficulty getting Bibles shipped from
Moscow, someone mentioned the existence of a warehouse outside of town
where these confiscated Bibles had been stored since Stalin's day.

After much prayer by the team, one member finally got up the courage to go
to the warehouse and ask the officials if the Bibles were still there.
Sure enough, they were. Then they asked if the Bibles could be removed and
distributed again to the people of Stavropol. The answer was, 'Yes!'

The next day the team returned with a truck, and several Russian people,
to help load the Bibles. One helper was a young man - a skeptical, hostile
agnostic collegian who had come only for the day's wages. As they were
loading Bibles, one team member noticed that the young man had disappeared.
Eventually they found him in a corner of the warehouse, weeping.

He had slipped away hoping to take a Bible for himself. What he found shook
him to the core. The inside page of the Bible he picked up had the handwritten signature of his own grandmother. It had been her personal Bible. Out of the thousands of Bibles still left in that warehouse, he stole the one belonging to his grandmother - a woman persecuted for her faith all her life.

No wonder he was weeping -- God was real -- and this was his introduction
to the sovereign El, the Creator of the universe!

As told by Andrea Wolfe

Read and meditate on these scriptures:
Psalm 119:10-16 “With my whole heart have I sought Thee: O let me not
wander from Thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I
might not sin against Thee. Blessed art Thou, O LORD: teach me Thy
statutes. With my lips have I declared all the judgments of Thy mouth. I
have rejoiced in the way of Thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. I
will meditate in Thy precepts, and have respect unto Thy ways. I will
delight myself in Thy statutes: I will not forget Thy word.”

Visit http://www.Godswork.org

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Pay Attention

PAY ATTENTION

God gave me another gentle reminder of what is essential this morning. I
was rushing around trying to get too many things done at once and not doing
any of them very well. As I was about to start my next chore, though, I
caught a glimpse of brilliant light shining through my living room window.
The sun had just risen over the mountains and was shining brightly down on
the Earth. It’s glorious, golden beams were joyfully waking the world.
Seeing this I walked out on my front porch to take a break from doing and
spend some time living.

The sky was the purest blue imaginable. The air was so fresh and cool that
I breathed in deeply with delight. I listened to the birds singing happily
in the nearby trees as they greeted the morning. I then stood for awhile
paying attention to this wonderful world God has given us. Before I went
back inside I told God just how much I loved Him and thanked Him again for
my life.

Life is so full of beauty, wonder, and delight. Life is so full of
kindness, peace, and happiness. Life is so full of love and joy. God has
given us a world overflowing with good things for us to rejoice in. It is
up to us, however, to pay attention to them. It is up to us to take them
into our hearts, souls, and minds. And it is up to us to share them with
the world.

Don’t go through life too busy to see that essential wonder and beauty
around you then. Pay attention to it. Pay attention to that golden
sunlight and brilliant blue sky. Pay attention to that first flower poking
its head through the dirt in the Spring. Pay attention to that smiling
child wanting to play and laugh with you. Pay attention to that beautiful,
old soul sharing stories about his life with you. Pay attention to those
people who are reaching out to you and offering to share their love and
joy with you. Pay attention to the glorious love that God freely offers
you every second of your life. Life is too short not to pay attention.

By Joseph J. Mazzella

Read and meditate on these scriptures:
Psalm 34:1-4 “I will bless the LORD at all times: His praise shall
continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the
humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the LORD with me, and
let us exalt His name together. I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and
delivered me from all my fears.”

Habakkuk 3:17-19 “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall
fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields
shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there
shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy
in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength, and he will make
my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places...”

Source  --- http://www.Godswork.org

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Moved By The Hand of God

MAKING THOSE OBSTACLES VANISH

American President John Quincy Adams once said, “Patience and perseverance
have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles
vanish.” It's true!

Look what happened once to a North Carolina church that wanted to purchase
some property. The church regularly suffered from high tide flooding. But
when the church was built over a hundred years ago, they couldn't afford
better property.

They finally decided to relocate to higher ground. An ideal piece of
property was empty - actually the highest ground in town. It belonged to a
man named Sam. Officials from the church went to see Sam about selling the
property. He politely told them it wasn't for sale; that he had other
plans for the land.

The church looked elsewhere, but nothing satisfactory could be found. So
they went back to Sam and made another offer. Again they were refused.
Then an unusual thing happened. One of the worst coastal floods in memory
struck the town. As water rose, the church began to float. It left its
coastal lot and started inward. It floated down the main street, turned a
corner and eventually landed right on Sam's empty property.

Sam gave in. He allowed the building to stay and, if you ask the members
of North Carolina's Swanquarter United Methodist Church how they came to
acquire their land, they may relate what Sam said about the transaction:
“I guess if the good Lord couldn't move me to give the land to the church,
he would move the church to the land.”

The member's persistence, combined with a little outside help paid off.
Persevere - you may be surprised at how your obstacles vanish!

By Steve Goodier

–> For details story, you could visit : http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~jmack/photos/providen.htm

Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever
things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure,
whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if
there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

(King James Version Bible)

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