Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Dorcas

 


 
  
Dorcas

 
It is one of the signs of the times we live in that the skill of home sewing is slowly disappearing. Women work outside the home now and don't have time to acquire the skills. Fewer and fewer are able to teach the few who want to learn. Besides, machine-made clothing is so relatively cheap that sewing is at best a hobby, not an economic necessity.
 
Not so in New Testament times. All clothing was handmade. And every town had poor people who were clothed literally in rags. Dorcas seems to have been an older widow in Joppa on the coast who showed her Christian faith in making clothes and helping the poor.
 
"In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas), who was always doing good and helping the poor. About that time she became sick and died. . . . All the widows stood around him [Peter], crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them" (Acts 9:36,37,39).
 
Dorcas' resurrection is a magnificent story. It is a demo version of what God is going to do for all believers when he returns. But I love Dorcas even more for her servant-heart, a seamstress who put clothes on the poor.
 
 

 



Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Impossible Situations By Pamela Rosario

 
 
 
The day was almost over. As I cleaned the room in preparation for the next patient, I heard the intercom blare my name announcing a call waiting for me at the nurses’ station.

I maneuvered my way through the crowded hospital corridor and picked up the first free phone I could find. The grim tone of my brother’s voice caused my heart to leap into my throat.

“They found a large tumor on Mom’s liver.” This was not the first time we had heard the words “tumor” or “cancer.”

Six years earlier, she had fought a hard fight against colon cancer and won. However, we felt the winds of change after a kidney infection landed her in the emergency room earlier that month. Her doctor performed a blood test that indicated her cancer might have returned. The CAT scan confirmed our worst fears. The cancer had spread, or metastasized, to her liver.

“What are we going to do?” Alan’s voice broke through my stunned silence.

After asking a few more questions about my mother’s test results, all I could say was, “I’ll call you back.”

I left the desk and found my husband in another area of the emergency room where we both worked as nurses. I shared the news with him and other co-workers who were standing by. Concerned looks and pats on the shoulder were all they could offer in the way of a solution. My husband turned to me. “What about Rhonda?”

Spurred on by a glimmer of hope, I grabbed the phone. My hands shook as I dialed the number. The din of the emergency room grew faint as I waited for the familiar voice to answer.

“Hey, Rhon. It’s Pam. Can you talk for a minute?”

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

I launched into the story without taking a breath. “Mom has a tumor on her liver. Alan told me her doctor said he can’t operate because it is wrapped around a major blood vessel. What can I do? Who can I take her to?”

Then came the inevitable question, “What kind of insurance does she have?”

I took a deep breath “She doesn’t have any."

The silence that followed was shattered by my friend’s determined voice, “Pam, give me a minute and I will call you back.” The phone went dead.

As I waited, my heart began to sink. How would my mother get the care she needed? Mom had survived two major surgeries, six weeks of radiation, and eighteen months of chemotherapy. After she went into remission, my parents tried to obtain some sort of health coverage for her. All of these efforts were fruitless. Because of her history, no conventional insurance company would touch her. She was too young for Medicare, and when she tried applying for Medicaid, she was told she would have to divorce my father in order to qualify for benefits. After fifty years of marriage, this was not an option. Furthermore, even if we had the funds, where would she get a doctor? Few surgeons in the state would call themselves qualified to tackle such a case, and, if they did, it could take months to get an appointment. Our chances seemed bleak. It was an impossible situation.

Throughout the Bible, we find story after story of men and women surrounded by circumstances that had no viable solution. In the Old Testament, we read about a couple of senior citizens waiting for a promised child to be born. Let us not forget the runaway murderer commissioned by God to lead Israel out of centuries of slavery against the super power of his day. How about the Israeli leader who needed more hours of daylight in order to defeat the enemy? All of these were impossible situations.

In the New Testament, we can feel the anxiety of the disciples as five thousand hungry people waited for the meal Jesus announced that He would provide. Ponder this: Lazarus was dead. Mary and Martha were racked with grief when Jesus finally arrived three days later. “Where were you?” they cried. More impossible situations.

The list goes on and on, but with every insurmountable obstacle, God comes through. Abraham and Sarah have a healthy baby boy. Moses brings the children of Israel out of bondage after four hundred years of oppression while being chased by the entire Egyptian army. Joshua defeated the enemy when God made the sun stand still. Jesus not only fed five thousand men, but also all the women and children who were there with food to spare. Much to the delight of Mary and Martha, Jesus brought Lazarus back to life. When the world shakes its head and announces there is no way, God flexes His muscles on behalf of those whose hearts are loyal to Him, (2 Chronicles 16:9).

Replaying the events of that day, I feel humbled and honored at the evidence of God’s hand at work in Mom’s life. Little did I know that God would use an old friendship to bring about a new solution. When the call finally came, Rhonda’s voice rang full of confidence.

“Pam, the doctor I work for has agreed to see your Mom. He is one of the best trauma surgeons in Florida. And, because of where her tumor is located, we are going to enroll her in the teaching program so all her hospital costs will be covered. She won’t have to pay for a thing.”

Friend, are you facing an impossible situation? Perhaps a loved one has been touched by an unexpected illness like my mother, or your checkbook shows more withdrawals than deposits. If so, just remember what God asked Jeremiah in chapter 32, verse 27: “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is there anything too difficult for me?” When we see obstacles, God sees opportunities. God is ready, willing, and able to do all that we need. Turn the burden over to Him, ignite your faith, and watch the hand of God turn your situation around.

“Heavenly Father, thank you for working all things for my good. Give me a loyal heart so that you can ‘show Yourself strong’ in my life. Bring to my mind how You have rescued me in the past. Increase my faith so I can see Your solution to my impossible situation. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
 
 

Sunday, February 22, 2015

 
 

Whom Do You Follow?

 
Whom are you following, my friend?
Do you hear all the voices?
“Lo, here is Christ…lo, he is there”--
So many make wrong choices.
Our Lord warns false prophets shall rise
And many shall be deceived;
Oh, may we always follow close
To the One whom we’ve received…
Whom Do You Follow?
Only Jesus Christ our Savior
Is the Way, the Truth, the Life--
No other name is given, friend,
That can cleanse and make us right.
There is no doctrine that can save,
Though it may be true and straight;
No matter what our religion,
Christ alone opens the Gate…
Whom Do You Follow?
Even we Christians who know Truth
Can get caught up with a man,
And blindly believe all he says
Comes straight from the Father’s hand;
Oh, let us guard our hearts and minds
From false prophets of the day,
And closely follow our Shepherd,
Lest we, too, be led astray…
Whom Do You Follow?
 Jesus said: “If any man say unto you,
Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets,
and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that,
if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”
(Matt 24:23-24)
 


Friday, February 20, 2015

The Courage to Face Our Insecurities} Week 2: What If I Can’t Do My Best

 

No one can make us feel quite as unsure about ourselves as another woman. And nothing can wound as much as the words that sometimes come from a friend or from inside our own head. That’s why (in)courage exists as an online community committed to making safe spaces for women to connect.
By Mary Carver 
 
 
 
 
 

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Roses of Hope for Miss Lupe

 

Roses of Hope for Miss Lupe

A heavenly reminder on a widow's first Valentine's Day alone.
By Lupe Ruiz-Flores, San Antonio, Texas
Not once in 40 years of marriage had my husband forgotten Valentine’s Day. Gilbert always brought me roses and chocolates. But eight months earlier he’d died suddenly of a brain aneurysm. Losing him was a complete shock. Gil­bert never got sick. We’d recently retired and were looking forward to spending our golden years together traveling, seeing our kids and grandkids.
I’d taken this job to distract myself from my grief. But now I wished I’d taken the day off. I left as soon as I could and drove home. I had no appetite for dinner so I sat out back on the patio listening to the wind chimes, remembering all the barbecues Gilbert and I had had out here. I’d never felt so alone. How could Gilbert be gone?
The doorbell rang. Probably some salesperson. It rang again. I sighed, got up and peeked out the front window. The kids from across the street, six-year-old Bridget and her nine-year-old brother, Aaron, stood on the porch.
I opened the door. Bridget’s freckled face smiled up at me. “Miss Lupe, we made these in school today. We wanted you to have them.” She and Aaron each held up a long, slender, crooked shape. Roses. The buds were chocolate kisses covered in red cellophane. The stems were wire wrapped in green floral tape.
“Thank you,” I said. My voice broke.
“We didn’t mean to make you cry, Miss Lupe,” Aaron said worriedly.
“Oh, sweetheart, these are happy tears. Thank you so much.”
 
The kids left and I cradled the flowers. Roses and chocolate. On my first Valentine’s Day without my husband, they were a heavenly reminder that I would always be loved.

7 Good Things…You Need to Know About Love

 
7 Good Things…You Need to Know About Love
 
Love…
Bends the knee to serveSo when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you?” John 13:12 (NKJV)  
Breaks the chains of bondageBut the man from whom the demons were gone out prayed him that he might be with him: but he sent him away, saying, Return to thy house, and declare how great things God hath done for thee. And he went his way, publishing throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done for him. Luke 8:38-39 (ASV)
Bears the things that can be unbearableSurely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Isaiah 53:4 (NKJV)
Blesses with all it can giveBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, Ephesians 1:3 (NKJV)
Believes in entrusting all things to GodWho when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; 1 Peter 2:23 (NKJV)
Bleeds to give its life that we might be forgivenGod showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 1 John 4:9-10 (NLT)
In Christ, you no longer need to look for love, you only need to give it away.