Faith's Checkbook

"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" Luke 11:9-13

Even though good fathers (and mothers) make mistakes, they treat their children well, with peace and love. How much better our perfect heavenly Father treats his children! The most important gift He could ever give us is the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4), whom He promised to give all believers after His death, resurrection, and return to heaven (John 15:26). Charles Spurgeon's book Faith's Checkbook tells us that once we have accepted a promise as our own by faith, we "must present the promise to the Lord, as a man presents a check at the counter of a bank. He must plead it by prayer, expecting to have it fulfilled. God can pay up on anything He promised. He alone possesses unlimited strength, infinite power, and matchless wisdom! He can be trusted. It would be foolish and a great waste to possess a checkbook full of awesome blessings and not attempt to cash them because you don't believe that the check writer can pay. There is only one true God in the universe - and it's not you. God is our heavenly Father who loves to bless His children. He is the guarantor of many amazing promises that only He can fulfill. But God is also the supremely wise and absolute ruler of the universe. This means that although He longs to bless you, He may not do it when or how you want. He is entitled to fulfill his promises exactly when and how He wants. Often He knows it is not best if we get what we want when we want it. Often it is best for us to wait. In His wisdom, God may choose that we do without small blessings now so He can pour out huge blessings later. Where is your promise today? I pray that your faith is renewed in the Lord Jesus. God Bless you, J.H

Word#2

You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever - the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. John 14:14-18, 26-27

When Jesus says we can ask for anything, we must remember that our asking must be in His name - that is, according to God's character and will. God cannot grant requests contrary to His nature, and we cannot use His name as a "magic formula" to fulfill our selfish desires. If we are sincerely following God and seeking to do His will, then our requests will be in line with what He wants, and He will grant them. The Holy Spirit is the very presence of God within us and all believers, helping us to live as God wants and building Christ's church on earth today. By faith, we can appropriate the Spirit's power each day. Where does your faith lie today? I pray that it is in the power of the Holy Spirit. Remember, His love is a gift. You cannot earn it. You must receive it. There is nothing that you can do in this life to make God love you any more or any less than He already does. His love is unconditional. That is the essence of the Gospel. That is the Good news. Right where you are, in the midst of your trial, in the midst of your drama, He loves you. Accept His love today. Accept His power today. He can change you life if you let Him. In Jesus' Name, J.H.

Word for today

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with is passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Romans 5:22-25
God is interested in every part of our lives, not just the spiritual part. As we live by the Holy Spirit's power, we need to submit every aspect of our lives to God - emotional, physical, social, intellectual, vocational. Paul says that because we are saved, we should act like it. The Holy Spirit is the source of your new life, so keep in step with His leading. Don't let anything or anyone else determine your values and standards in any area of your life. Where is your strength coming from today? I declare the power of the Holy Spirit in your lives right now. May He grant you peace and strength that only comes from above.
God Bless you, J.H

In Everything You Do

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Colossians 3:15-17

God's promises of peace and prosperity are new everyday. That is why it is important for us to refocus on the Word of God everyday. It is so easy for each of us to get caught up in the daily grind, to place our lives on auto-pilot. It takes a consciencious effort to remain in God's word and to remain thankful, especially in times of trial. God's main concern regarding you is your heart. Is your heart directed toward your problem, or is it directed toward Him, the one that can solve your problem. Even if He doesn't solve your problem the way that you would like it solved, He is already seeing you through. Count on it. So, keep your eyes on Him today. He loves you more than you know.
God Bless you, J.H.

Barbara

I'm really not very good at expressing my thoughts. I guess that is why I never use this blog to express any deep or personal thoughts of my own.



Barbara is our youngest child. She is the quiet one, and she is often under estimated for that reason. Barbara has decided to do a two month mission to Haiti this summer. She is my baby, she is only 13, two months can be a long time and Haiti is a different world. What can I say...I'm scared!



Still, even so we've thought about it and we've prayed about it and we've agreed to it...so now it is time to get excited about it!



The next few months are going to be busy. Dolores has an internship, our busy season at work is starting, and Barbara has alot to do to prepare for this journey. She has to raise her own support as well in a fairly limited time frame.
I'll encourage Barbara to use her blog to tell about TMI, about the project in Haiti, to journal her progress and keep everyone up to date on her fund raising, and hopefully just generally share her experiences with us.

She's A Butterfly

She remembers when she first got her wings
And how she opened up that day
she learned to sing
Then the colors came, erased the
black and white
And her whole world changed
when she realized

[Chorus:]
She's a butterfly, pretty as the crimson sky
Nothing's ever gonna bring her down
And everywhere she goes
Everybody knows she's so glad to be alive
She's a butterfly

Like the purest light in a darkened world
So much hope inside such a lovely girl
You should see her fly, it's almost magical
It makes you wanna cry, she's so beautiful

[Chorus]

God bless the butterfly,
give her the strength to fly
Never let her wings touch the ground
God bless the butterfly,
give her strength to fly
Never let her wings touch the ground

[Chorus]

God bless the butterfly,
give her the strength to fly
Never let her wings touch the ground
God bless the butterfly,
give her the strenght to fly
Never let her wings touch the ground

A New Years Prayer

A New Year's Prayer

Another year is dawning
With the chance to start anew.
May I be kinder, wiser, Lord,
In all I say and do.

Not so caught up in selfish gain
That I would fail to see
The things in life that mean the most
Cost not a fancy fee.

The warm, kind word that I can give,
The outstretched hand to help,
The prayers I pray for those in need--
More precious these than wealth.

I know not what may lie ahead
Of laughter or of tears;
I only need to know each day
That You are walking near.

I'm thankful for this brand new year
As now I humbly pray,
My hand secure in Yours, dear Lord,
Each step along the way.

Kay Hoffman