Conquer Your Mountain in 2013!

KIM CLEMENT

 

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(© Marrvin | Stock Free Images )

It's almost 2013! Many great things happened during 2012, and even though we faced hardships and trials, which are to be expected in life, we survived and even laughed a lot more than we had in previous years. How can we smile, have joy, and even get excited when we are faced with so much evil and darkness? Well, let's look at a few things before we travel together to the mountain in Israel and hear the Word of the Lord on Dec. 31.

We are NOT going to enter 2013 with one negative word on our lips, but rather the word "CONQUER" will resonate and prepare our path to many victories. You may be saying, "Kim, you're just too positive! How can we truly believe this?"

Sir Winston Churchill was once asked to give the qualifications of a person needed in order to succeed in politics, and he replied: "It is the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year. And to have the ability afterwards to explain why it didn't happen." That is what is required for politicians, not God's prophets and messengers. Look at Isaiah as an example.

Sarah’s Tent

“Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.” — Genesis 24:67

The Torah portion for this week, Chayei Sarah, is from Genesis 23:1–25:18 and 1 Kings 1:1–31.

Nothing can replace the loss of a loved one. But it’s common to feel some degree of comfort when a new love is found – like a new spouse, friend, or baby. So it’s not surprising, Scripture tells us, that “Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death” after he married Rebekah. However, the Sages tell us that Isaac was comforted by much more than the love of his wife. With Rebekah’s entrance into Isaac’s tent, a part of Sarah returned, too.

When Tough Times Come

"Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied." (Acts 9:31)

There are times when life on this earth is hard and uncomfortable...and even downright painful. When those times come, you deeply need the comfort that only the Holy Spirit can bring.
How do you receive that kind of comfort?

The God of Your Buried Dreams

Photo by Rebecca Barlow Jordan

God is not only the God of your buried dreams. He’s also the God of surprises.

Whether you’re writer, a reader, a parent, a grandparent, a single, a spouse, or a senior–I hope you’ll find a piece of encouragement in this short post that will lift you up. At the end of the blog, I’ll explain the picture from my garden that inspired it.

The God of Your Buried Dreams

by

Rebecca Barlow Jordan

Still In God’s Hands

Our Daily Bread is hosted by Les Lamborn

READ: Job 1:13-22

READ: Job 1:13-22

In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong. —Job 1:22

During my first year of seminary, I listened as a new friend described her life. Abandoned by her husband, she was raising two small children alone. Earning just over minimum wage, she had little chance of escaping the poverty and dangers she described in her neighborhood.

As a father, I was moved by her concern for her children, and asked, “How do you handle all of this?” She seemed surprised by my question and replied, “We are doing all we can do, and I must leave them in God’s hands.” Her trust in God in the midst of trials reminded me of Job’s trust (1:6-22).

A year later, she phoned and asked if I would come be with her at the funeral home. Her son had been killed in a drive-by shooting. I asked God for words to comfort her and for the wisdom not to try to explain the unexplainable.

Standing with her that day, however, I marveled as again and again she comforted others—her confidence in God unshaken by this terrible blow. Turning to me as we parted, her final words were a poignant reminder of the depth of her faith: “My boy is still in God’s hands.” Like Job, she “did not sin nor charge God with wrong”(v.22).

Is God Really Enough? Part 1

Mary Southerland

Today's Truth
So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided" (Genesis 22:14, NIV).

Friend to Friend

As I worked through the seemingly endless number of emails, my heart grew heavy and my soul cried out to God - so many women in so much pain. I could feel their fear and confusion in every word. Their circumstances were all very different, but they were all really asking the same question, "Where are you, God?"

I was already tired and overwhelmed, having just returned from speaking at a women's conference in an area of the country where the economy had taken a nosedive. So many of the prayer requests were centered around one deep need – the provision of God. And honestly, I was struggling with the same question in my own life.

I hurt. The doctors said it was fibromyalgia and that the medical world doesn't really understand the disease, so my treatment options were "iffy" at best. I had a lot of questions but no one seemed to have any answers.

The Teacher's Hand

Bruce Howell

A SCHOOL TEACHER asked her first graders to draw a picture of something they were thankful for. She thought of how little these children from poor neighborhoods actually had to be thankful for. She reasoned that most of them would no doubt draw pictures of turkeys on tables with lots of other food.

She was surprised with the picture that Douglas handed in. It was the picture of a human hand, poorly drawn. But whose hand? The other children tried to guess. One said it was the hand of God because He brings the food to us. Another said it was the hand of a farmer because he raises and grows the food.

Finally, when the others were back at their work, the teacher bent over Douglas’ desk and asked whose hand it was. "Why, its your hand, teacher," he mumbled.

LIVE EACH DAY AS YOUR LAST

[God] comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 2 Corinthians 1:4

On that fateful Sunday morning in January 1996, Joy Dimerin’s beloved fiancé, Severino Bagtasos, was killed when a lone gunman stormed into the church that he pastored and shot him twice. Severino was killed on the first day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, in the predominantly Muslim town of Alat on Jolo Island, in southern Philippines. He had a zeal in reaching Muslims for Christ. Joy and Severino were supposed to get married in May 1997.

“By the grace of God, I am doing well and still enjoying the ministry,” testifies Joy. She admits that feelings of loneliness and emptiness were the most difficult things she faced after her beloved Severino died. “I was afraid that I wouldn’t find a godly man like him again,” confides Joy. “I learned to see God’s purpose in my life,” Joy added. “I learned to accept whatever circumstances come my way and look at them as God’s instruments in molding me and in making me a better person. Through [Severino’s] life I learned commitment to the ministry and to prayer. Through his death, I learned to always be prepared to face the Author and Finisher of my faith. Through this tragedy, I learned to live each day as though it were my last.”

Claiming God's Promises

Whatever your situation is, whether you lost your job, lost a loved one, going through a painful divorce or diagnosed with a life threatening disease, do not loose faith! 

There is always light at the end of the tunnel, just as there is calm after the storm. The God who delivered the Israelites out of slavery is still the same God yesterday,today and forever! 

You can take comfort knowing that He will never forsake you or leave you! The bible is full of God's promises, those are His words. Because His words are true and gives life we can use His words to get out of a sticky situation. 

This lens is about learning how to claim God's promises in the midst of the storm. To pray God's words through a time of crises and coming out victorious! 

This lens is for all of you who are facing the storms of life.

http://www.squidoo.com/claim-gods-promises-in-the-storm

"Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."

"Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10


We all face things in life that get us down, whether it's the death of a loved one, an argument, loneliness, or any other number of things. 


But God's Word tells us not to grieve and find joy in the Lord. 


He is the great Comforter after all  


God bless!


godvine.com 

Music for the Dance

by Max Lucado

Let's imagine that you want to learn to dance. Being the rational, cerebral person you are, you go to a bookstore and buy a book on dancing.

You take the book home and get to work. You do everything it says. The book says sway; you sway. The book says shuffle; you shuffle. The book says spin; you spin.

Finally, you think you've got it, and you invite your wife to come in and watch. You hold the book open and follow the instructions step by step.

You continue to read, then dance, read, then dance, until the dance is completed. You plop exhausted on the couch, look at your wife, and proclaim, "I executed it perfectly."

"You executed it, all right," she sighs. "You killed it."

"What?"