This year, our church decided to participate as a group in a “Year of the Bible” plan, which allows anyone who wants to participate to read the Bible all the way through in a year. For anyone willing to do so, a commitment document was available in late December to be filled out by the participant, stating their plan to read the Bible through by the end of the year.

Of course, many want to participate but aren’t so willing to make a promise that they will be able to accomplish reading the entire Bible. And that’s all right, they can still participate without a pledge being signed.

For those who want to read the entire Bible, this can be accomplished by reading three to four chapters a day. In the plan our church used, this usually consisted of two or three chapters from the Old Testament and one chapter from the New Testament or a Psalm. The New Testament or Psalm readings are co-ordinated with what the Old Testament has to say on a given subject so that both sections of the reading work together.

Many people don’t want to commit to reading the whole Bible, so for them there is a plan whereby they read one selected chapter a day. Then there are those who possibly have already read the entire Bible but still want to participate in the program or just don’t feel they can commit to even reading a chapter a day. For them one chapter is selected to be read each week.

Families can also choose to participate as a unit by reading their chapters together and perhaps discussing them as well. What a great way for parents and children to learn God’s word together.

A small booklet is made available for purchase for a nominal fee at the beginning of the year whereby the chapters to be read for the people reading the whole Bible, are laid out for them in monthly sections along with an overview of what they will be reading and certain points they should look for.

For those participating in the other two plans, each week’s readings are in the weekly bulletin at church on Sunday as well as being in the monthly church newsletter. Various Bible studies throughout the weeks stimulate interest and keep things moving along, as do questions that are posed along with the readings each week in the bulletin and each month in the newsletter.

At the end of the year, those who participated in any of the three plans will be eligible to attend a luncheon to celebrate the fact that they fulfilled the promise they made by reading what they set out to read.

This seems to be a good plan as it gives people of every level a chance to participate in reading the Bible. It also gives everyone participating a path to follow rather than just starting at the beginning of the Bible and running the possibility of getting bogged down. By doing the reading as a group, discussing it at the Bible studies and having the reminders and questions posed weekly and monthly, the readers are more likely to stick with the plan and complete their desired level of reading for the year.

Reading the Bible all the way through is quite an accomplishment. Studying what you’ve read and learning as you go is even more of an accomplishment, and everyone who participated and completed what they pledged should be happy that they were able to accomplish their goal.

In an age where the lengths of some marriages are measured in weeks or months instead of years, there is a film just released in September 2008 that not only celebrates the sanctity of marriage, but illustrates how marriage can work…if only we will work at it.

From the creators of Facing the Giants (a truly inspiring movie about never giving up and not losing your faith) comes Fireproof, a heartwarming and challenging movie by writers and producers Alex and Stephen Kendrick.

The story centers around Caleb Holt, played by Kirk Cameron (from TV’s Growing Pains), a firefighter, and his wife Catherine (played by Erin Bethea). After seven years of marriage, they are on the brink of divorce and convinced there is nothing else either can do to save their relationship. Caleb’s father convinces him to hold off on the divorce proceedings for 40 days and to try an experiment called “The Love Dare”, a daily devotional project to help couples reestablish their love for each other.

Caleb rather unwillingly agrees to give it a try, but Catherine is less than responsive to his efforts. When he is about to give up for good, an honest talk with his father opens his eyes to the fact that what he truly needs is a change in his own heart. He has been rejecting God’s love in the same way Catherine keeps rejecting his and thus is unable to truly love her as God intended. With a new found faith, he resolutely determines to win her back, but is it too late? Will he be able to conquer his own lustful habits that have been so damaging to their relationship? And will he be able to win her heart over another man that is also vying for her affections?

Although labeled as a Christian film, Fireproof is an excellent choice for any couple, regardless of religious beliefs. To those that are struggling in marriage, it can be a superb tool to begin reconciliation, and for those that have an already strong relationship, a touching reaffirmation of love and commitment. It’s also a great insight for singles or anyone preparing for marriage.

The film is rated PG and is very family-friendly, though obviously suited more for adults. Although it is a drama that deals with serious issues, there are many moments of humor interspersed throughout that keep the film highly entertaining and moving at a good pace. There’s action, tears, laughter and a real tug on your heart…all the elements that make for a great movie experience.

For more information, you can go to the film’s official website,

www.fireproofthemovie.com

We all know that prayer is conversation with God, but why is it important? Can we live without saying one single prayer for our entire life? Sure we can, but I’m certain we pray even without realizing it. Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you said: “Please help me God!” or “O Lord, have mercy!”? I know I said prayers like these before each and every exam! We do this sometimes without realizing we’re actually praying and asking God for help. We usually pray when we are in trouble and stressed. But prayer shouldn’t be an emergency button pressed in extreme situations. It should be a way of life, something to be done on regular basis, just like eating!

If prayer is not something you regularly do, then you will feel strange at first. Don’t give up! Don’t think it’s stupid! God won’t judge you. Actually, He will be so thrilled to meet with you, He won’t care how grammatically correct or how coherent you are. He is there for you, not for your perfect words and definitely not to check you off of His to do list!

You should tell Him all about you’re problems and if you think you have a shrink for that, then I say God is so much better then a therapist! Not only because He’s there whenever you need Him, not just for 1 hour once a week, and not only because He won’t cost you a fortune per session; but because He’s an active listener who really loves you unconditionally and has effective solutions to your problems, and because He is your Father. After you speak with God, you won’t just feel like you shared your frustrations with another being, but you will fill lighter, you will come to find peace and a strength you never new existed. It might not be evident at first, but don’t give up and soon you will know the difference. Not only you, but the people around you will see the difference. Your problems won’t vanish into thin air, they will still be there. The one different will be you. You will find the strength to fight your battles and you might even come to understand why you have those battles in the first place.

The Bible says you will never face anything that is beyond your powers. It’s hard to believe this sometimes, I know from my own experience. But it’s true. If you feel like life itself it’s too much for you, than you need to recharge. Your battles are there for a reason and it is important how YOU come out in the end! This is what God is really interested in – YOU – He wants to build you up, and He wants to assist you in every need.

If you think God should help you first and then you might start doing all those religious things, then you need to know this: God is a gentleman! He will never rush into your life uninvited. He will only assist you if you ask Him. Don’t think He doesn’t care about your shopping, chores, job, lack of money or any other thing you might consider too little for a Great God! Every little thing that is important to you is important to God too. Why? Because He cares about everything that affects you! Remember you are the one God is interested in.

What words should you say? Should you use some pre-designed prayers? If you are very uneasy about praying at first and you think a prayer book would help you start, then use one. But I encourage you not to become too dependent on it. What God really wants to hear is you; He wants to hear the concerns of your heart not someone else’s. Talk to Him as you would to your best friend – and this is what He can be for you. Don’t try to impress Him with big words, because it won’t work. God is not some CEO at a big firm you can only approach in a professional manner. God is SO much greater then a CEO, yet so available and common so we won’t be intimidated, and approach Him. He’s an All-knowing God and there is nothing that would surprise Him so, if you really messed up, say just that: God I really messed up! If you feel alone and wish for His presence, tell Him: God I want your presence with me. Simple words like that are meant to open up the heavens for you but they won’t open unless you speak the words.

It’s great if you can bring you to do list before God every morning, but there is no perfect time for prayer. Actually, prayer should be done without ceasing. Non Stop! Just the way we like our shops to run these days. There is no special time of the day that would make prayer more efficient, like: morning, evening or before bedtime. If you feel the right time is while you drink your coffee, than that’s what it is! If you like it better while driving to work, that’s great too! You can use any moment of the day, and actually the more moments you take to pray, the closer you will draw to God.

Remember we defined prayer as a conversation with God? The important word we always forget is conversation! So you’ve finished praying your to do list, and your needs list, and your sick or in need friends list, then you say Amen and off you go! But how is that a conversation? Isn’t a conversation suppose to involve too persons? We are all guilty of this sin! We never stop and listen. I’ve prayed through the toughest decisions of my life, but regrettably I must admit I haven’t always stopped to listen. I still have to pay some great prices for that; prices I wish I never had to pray. If only I had stopped and listen to Him speak to me.
Listening to what God is saying is even more important than talking to Him. If you’ve never stopped to listen, then the first few times you actually try, you might still find yourself speaking! We’re not used to sit in silence and wait on the Lord to speak, so we feel the need to fill in the gap, to break the silence. Silence is good, the more you keep it, the more determined you are to actually hear God speak. And He will speak. At first it will be hard to separate Him from yourself and all the other things in your mind. But be patient and keep practicing, soon you will hear. Test what you hear! God’s words always validate themselves and when you realize you’ve heard right, you will feel like throwing a party! The more you practice, the better you will hear Him. The better you hear Him, the more focus, peace, joy and purpose you will have in your life.

God it right there, right now: waiting! Waiting for you to pray!

The most common prayer is the Prayer of Supplication, which is the one where you are asking God for something. It might be a need or just something you want. Most people are very good at this prayer.

The hardest prayer is the prayer of Confession or Repentance. This is the prayer where you have to humble yourself and admit your shortcomings and mistakes. Not too many people are good at admitting their failures.

One type of prayer that probably is never prayed enough is the prayer of Adoration and Praise. God requires us to acknowledge who he is and what he has done for us.

Intercessory prayer is one that needs to be prayed often. This the prayer that helps us “get over” ourselves and pray for those less fortunate than we are, or those with special needs that only God can take care of.

Then there is the prayer of Thanksgiving. This prayer needs to be prayed every day, not just on Thanksgiving, or not just when God answers one of our prayers of supplication. We need to thank him every day, even for the smallest things that we take for granted.

There is the prayer of Meditation. This one is good especially at the end of a hectic day. This is the prayer where you just be quiet and try to focus on your relationship with God. You can quietly sit and talk to our father, just like he was sitting next to you. It brings peace to your mind to just relax and get closer to God

The prayer of Consecration is one where you just let go and submit your mind, heart and will to Gods will. Very much like the one of Meditation, you could probably combine the two.

Then there are your Arrow prayers. These are direct prayers said on the spur of the moment and usually only contain one or two words such as “help” , “thank you” or “forgive me”.

So how much do you pray? Chances are , if you believe God is our creator and in charge of our lives, your probably pray all day long and don’t even realize it. This is a good thing, because God wants a continuous relationship with us.

One would never think that having cancer to be a good thing.  It isn’t really until after becoming cancer free or in remission that you look back and realize how much you have changed or how much you have learned throughout the battle with cancer.  I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma last year.  It was devastating news, but I held onto the faith that God would heal me.  I just needed to have faith.  Through my battle I learned so much; who my friends were, who I was, how strong I was, the meaning of crying out to God, the importance of faith and so much more.  Having cancer really changed my life and for the good.  I never thought I would be thankful that I had been diagnosed with cancer, but I am.  With everything that I had to deal with I changed a great deal as did my outlook on life.

Thus far battling cancer has been the hardest thing I have had to deal with in my years.  Because of some of the chemotherapy drugs I did lose my hair.  I never wore a wig because it just didn’t feel right.  It wasn’t me, who I was.  I always defined myself in relation to my hair.  I saw that I made it a point to prove that I was a smart blond.  I wanted to show that I was intelligent and not an airhead like the stereotype says.  When I lost that hair, it was like I lost a part of who I was, but in reality I didn’t lose a part of myself.  I was not defined by my hair, but the fact that  I was an intelligent woman, not an intelligent blond.  I was able to define myself with more than my hair.  I saw who I truly was and what made me…me.  There were other things to me like my faith, my interests and thoughts.  Cancer taught me a lot about who I was; I was surprised that I never really knew who I was until I lost something that I hide behind.

I learned how to deal with people not knowing how to react to knowing someone has cancer.  I had one woman actually think I was contagious.  It was things like that that would make me mad.  It was hard when people would look at me with pity and sometimes surprise because I never wore a wig.  I could tell when they put two and two together and figured out that I have cancer.  They almost always have the look of pity and I absolutely hated it.  I learned to tell the difference between pity and compassion.  I learn how to deal with people in an elegant and classy way.  Instead of telling them to stop pitting me, I would kindly thank them for their concern and say that I had faith that God would take care of me.  It hurt when people thought I was contagious or that I had a death sentence, which was not the case.  I learned how to ask my doctors the right questions.  I saw how strong I was to be able to walk through the sea of pity and fear sometimes.

Before I had cancer I always had a good outlook on life, but since I had cancer, my outlook has changed.  Different things have different importance to me.  I always valued relationships and nature around, but they both became more important to me.  When I was feeling up to it, I would go out and talk a walk.  It was then when I would ask God questions and hope for an answer, many times I got the answer, other times I just got a sense of peace.  Being in nature would help me feel closer to God and be a part of that grand design of things.  I always wanted to know why I had to go through cancer, and it was in nature when I felt like I had an answer which was it was God’s will which gave me peace.  I thought I had many friends from college and high school, but when I was diagnosed I found out who were truly the ones who would be there  through thick and thin.  I lost many friends, but I got closer to other ones.  I appreciate those in my life a lot more now, and I refuse to take them for granted. I will do everything I can to show them how much they are appreciated and loved.

Faith was always a big part of my life.  I have always heard of the power that prayer can hold, but I never really understood it until it was basically the only thing that I had.  The Bible talks about not only praying to God, but to cry out to him.  It wasn’t until now that I fully understood the meaning of those words “cry out to Jesus.”  I would spend nights just crying and calling out to Him.  I found myself actually wailing the way Mordecai did in the book of Ester.  I would imagine God just wrapping his enormous arms around me and holding me as I cried.  I prayed with my pastor ever week and prayed on my own, faith is the most important thing I had in my life.  It gave me my strength when I felt like I had none.  Many people saw strength within me and said i inspired them then and still do, and honestly I don’t see how I could have been strong without God carrying me through the pain and depression.  Prayer never held the importance that it does now.  People around me call me a miracle, I just see it as God’s healing touch working in me.

One thing I learned was what it meant to have victory.  Someone I love dearly; my uncle; dealth with cancer as well.  He and I would talk about many things including how important our faith was at this time.  We both had faith that we would find victory though cancer.  Sadly my dear uncle passed away, but he still saw victory.  Victory is not letting the cancer control you.  It is not letting cancer take away what made you really special and who you are.  Victory is not letting cancer take away your faith, and my uncle never once let the cancer take away his faith.  Though he passed away; he still found faith.  Cancer is a funny little thing, you never know what will happen, how it comes, or what would result from it.  I never expected to have my life completely changed for the better.  I never thought my ideas would change or that I could ever experience God’s power the way that I did.  Sometimes it’s hard to really put into words.  If you don’t go through cancer you won’t understand and I learned how to deal with people who constantly said they knew what I was going through.

I may have had cancer when I was young.  I was 24 when I was diagnosed, 26 as I write this.  But cancer doesn’t define me, neither does my hair as it grows in.  People have their own way of reacting to different things including cancer.  Cancer changes lives, some let it tear them down, while others let it make them stronger.  Cancer can change the way you look at things and how you view your friends and relationships.  Learn from cancer, don’t let it take over who you are and make you different than who you truly are.  Cancer could help you find who you are and what it means to really have faith in God.

We live in a self centered, here and now society.  To often we want things to happen NOW; at this moment.  Waiting and saving has become a thing of the past.  Fast food and developing film in seconds have become too slow.  We want to have everything we want when we want it, how we want and as much we want.  To often people are consumed with their own worldly desires and think their wants and needs come above all others, and are important than all other.  We tend to get upset if things do go exactly the way we want them to and we are never happy with the things we have and want bigger and better things.  If a new cell phone comes people are lined up to get it instead of keeping a perfectly good one simply because they new one is smaller and better.  It seems like nothing is good enough for some people.  We have a hard time accepting the things we have and want more.

We live in a world that’s all about “me.”  We are concerned with what I want, how I feel, what I have done.  We don’t tend to look outside of our own little worlds to see what life is really like.  We don’t become concerned for other people within the world.  People too often ask what can something do for me, even new Christians and the un-churched ask “what can God do for me,” but the question should be “what can I do for God.”  God doesn’t live for the here and now.  Everything that comes to pass has been planned according to God’s design.  God knows what will happen and when it will happen.  To know what we can do for God we must seek His will and plan for our lives.  Waiting for God’s time takes patience and trust in God.  We need to strive for God’s will to be done in our lives, yet be patient for it to come.  We may live in a here and now world, but we don’t serve a here and now God.

The Old Testament book of Habakkuk tells us “But these things I plan won’t happen right away.  Slowly, steadily, surely the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled.  If it seems slow, wait patiently, for it will surely take place.  It will not be delayed.  Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked; but the righteous will live by their faith.”  Habukkuk was considered one of the prophets of Old Testament.  The book is a short book, but holds a lot of powerful and meaningful verses. We can learn a lot from this book.  We need to pay attention to what it says about God’s plans. God has a plan for everyone, He knows what will happen and when, but it has to be the right time. Certain things that we want to happen can only happen when the time is right and only God knows when that will be.  God wants us to be patient and wait for his plans to be revealed.  Too often we kept questioning Him about when or why something has happened.  If things happened when we wanted them too, how can we learn to appreciate it and trust Him in troubled times?  When things are revealed it’s according to God’s vision not our own.  If you try to make things happen on your own, they won’t happen the right way and will go all wrong.  Yet when we walk by faith and trust God in His plans things will come to pass the way God wants them to and they work out.

Even though today’s world is all about the here and now, God is about patience and waiting for the right time for thigs to happen.  As Christians we shouldn’t fous on us and the “I wants” in life.  The things we want and need doesn’t  alway come when we want them too.  We need to focus on God’s will for our lives and learn to say okay in your time.  We need to strive for His will and waiting for what he wants to come to pass when he wants it to.  We cannot try to make the things we want to happen;if we do we’d undoubtedly fail.  When we rely on God things will happen according to His divine plan.  When we trust in God, we need to have patience for His plans to happen.  We’ve heard the saying “if it’s meant to be, it will be.”  If God wants something to happen it will happen, we just need to be patient and trust in God for those things to happen in our lives.  God’s vision for our lives imperfect and un-flawed; why should we in a sense, interfer with that perfect plan?  We need to trust that God directs our lives according to His will.

Being patient for God’s plan to be revealed is a slow wait and will take time to happen.  The time will come when all of God’s plans will come true.  How can we learn to trust God in all things if we get everything when we want it and how we want it?  How can we trust God if we don’t walk in faith about His will and waiting for things to happen.  Why should we try to make His will happen if we claim to walk in faith?  The proud trust in their own devises and try to make God’s will happen when they want it to and try to make God answer them when they don’t understand something.  Proverbs 3:6 tells us “seek His will in all you do and He will direct your paths.”  Solomon knew we need to place all trust God with everything we do.  Putting our trust in God leads to his guidance in our lives.  But simply because we trust in God for all aspects does not mean everything we want will happen.  It will happen only if God wants it to happen and if it is according to His will.  When we seek His will our will will become the direction that God wants us to go.

When God asked Solomon what he wanted, his answer was a simple one: he wanted God’s guidance and wisdom so he would be able to govern God’s people.  Out of everything in the world all Solomon wanted was for God’s guidance therefore God’s will to be done.  He put trust and reliance in God.  He patiently waited for things to occur in God’s timing alone.  We need to be like Solomon in that we need to put all of our trust and reliance in God when waiting for our desires.  We need to try to match our desires with God’s desires for us.  Things will happen, but in God’s time.  It will come slowly and steadily, but it approaches when all things will be revealed and we will know what His plan was for each and every one of our lives.

One of the top questions in the human mind is “what is my purpose in life?”  People spend thousands of dollars and time trying to find out what their purpose in life will be.  Finding your purpose can do a tough thing to do.  How do you know when something is really your purpose and not just something you want to do.  Pastor Rick Warren has tried to help people find their purposes through his book “The Purpose Driven Life.”  It goes through finding your purpose through your faith in God.  He talks about having the purpose to worship and praise God, along with resisting temptations and how to gain a closer relationship with God, which is part of our purposes in life.  There are forty chapters that you do one day at a time.  It allows you to reflect and think about it each day before you move on to the next chapter.  It is the best book about finding your purpose and more than worth the time to read and reflect on.  Warren also put out the “Purpose Driven Journal” to help you reflect on the things that he has talked about.

When beginning the purpose driven journey you may want to find someone who would do it with you and read the book together and discuss it with each other.  That way you have someone to help keep you accountable, and you can keep them accountable as well.  I will admit it was slow to start and hard to keep going, but once I pushed through the first few chapters I was able to make it through and be excited to read more and always want to read and discuss it with those reading it as well.  Warren writes in manner that makes you feel like he knows what he is talking about, but at the same time you are able to understand what he is saying.  There are so many books out there that makes it hard to read and understand, but Purpose Driven makes it easier to learn about the changes that may need to be done in order to come closer to finding your purpose in life.  It helps you learn what things you can do to help you come closer to God and becoming more like Jesus.

One thing that I love about the Purpose Driven Life is that at the end of each chapter is a “point to ponder,” “verse to remember,” and “question to consider.”  The point to ponder sums the chapter up in one simple point, one that could help you change your life for the better.  The verse to remember helps you be able to relate a Biblical verse to the every day things in life.  Then the question to consider helps you think about things in life that you may need to change or something you may not realize.  One of the questions from the earlier chapters was “What areas of my personality, background, and physical appearance am I struggling to accept?”  I really made me think and come to grips with some things in my past that I hid and forgot.  Things I needed to deal with before moving on.  That is the thing about this book, it makes you deal with things you may not have dealt with in the past or even thought mattered in your life or even to God for that matter.

The chapters are broken up into different sections so you can know better what the chapters will focus on.  Chapters 1 through 7 deal with what we are here for, then the next section (chapters 8 though 14) deal with the first purpose which is “we are planned for God’s pleasure” which means we are here to praise and worship God.  Then purpose three is chapters 15 through 21 and is entitled you were formed for God’s family.  We are all a part of God’s family and we belong in that family.  That is why some Christians call each other “brother” or “sister.”  Purpose three (chapters 22 to 28) deals with becoming like Christ, four takes on the idea od serving God (29 to35).  The last purpose is the mission we were made for.  At the beginning of each section are a few scriptures and each chapter beginning has scripture or quotes that relate to the topic of the chapter.  Those helped me to focus on that specific topic instead of thinking about other things.  That is one thing you do need to do, is keep yourself from getting distracted too easily with television or something.

I have to say that “The Purpose Driven Life” is one of my favorite books.  When I started I didn’t get very far, I think I made it to chapter four before I quit reading.  Then when my boyfriend wanted to strat reading it, there was more motivation and I have made it to chapter 28.  Reading it together has helped bond us together and get to know each other more as we form a great foundation for our relationship.  It is helping us keep our relationship focus on God and serving him, not just alone, but together as well.  Having someone else to read the book with you helps you stay motivated.  You may want to quit, but the other person will help keep you on track and you can do the same for them.  Many churches, mine included, has used this book as part of an adult Sunday school lesson.  I think this book helps take your focus away from the worldly things that could be disrupting your walk with God and helps you put your focus back where it needs to be.

There are so many things throughout the book that are powerful and makes you say “I never thought of it that way.”  It has helped me want to serve God more and become more active in my church life as well as my prayer life.  Rick Warren’s words make you want to shift your focus onto God and want to learn how to live your life in accordance to the Bible instead of according to what the world says we should do.  He helps you learn the difference between some things and what other things truly means.  Some people have a different view of what submission means and Rick Warren puts in terms that makes it easy to understand what it means to submit your life to God.

I think everyone would benefit from reading this book.  It will change your life and how you view things.  Try to read the book and see if it doesn’t help you find a greater purpose for your life and what you were put on this earth for.  It helps you figure out what your talents are and how to use them to honor God and bring him glory.  Pick up the book, find a reading companion and make your way through the book.  Your life will never be the same.

Imagine the horror of being parked in a chain store parking lot, and suddenly you look around at your back seat and see an unknown person sitting there.  You see the police running towards your car, and within minutes they are begging the person to get out of your car and surrender to them.  She stubbornly refuses, and finally, they manage to pull her out of the car and afterward she strongly resists all efforts to be handcuffed.  Well, this is what happened to me one day as I was waiting for my daughter who worked at the chain store.  It all happened so quickly, and I was so focused on the security guards running towards my car I  did  not notice the young woman who had gotten into my back seat after unsuccessfully trying to get into another lady’s car on the lot.  Whoever she was, I can say, she was a good runner, and a very strong person.

This only happened to me once, and hopefully, I will always be more aware of what’s going on around me when I park in a parking lot.  I later learned that the young woman had been caught taking something from the store without paying.  It seems she dropped the item from her hands, and took off running across the parking lot when she discovered the security guards were after her.

Removing merchandise from a store without paying for it is the crime of shoplifting.  Shoplifting, in my mind, is a crime that comes with a double curse.  The first curse is to the person who does it, and the second curse is upon society as a whole who have to reimburse the store through tax write-offs. Each year, millions of dollars of merchandise are stolen from the shelves of both large and small stores. The best of cameras, security systems, and security guards  will only be able to shrink the incidences, but never completely annihilate the habit at large.

A friend took a job in Loss Prevention in a large chain store.  After a 3 week course, including, on the job training, they were assigned to a store where shoplifting occurred frequently.  At first my friend was able to apprehend some people, but later it proved harder because the thefts were being made in a  way  which could not be caught by the camera or at the registers.  Some of the thefts were being executed by the chain’s   own clerks who negotiated false transactions with their friends.  These were harder to trace and catch. Other shoplifters concealed items in shopping bags, coats, and purses.  Security guards who are aware, can often spot this group because they visit the stores frequently with large overcoats over their arms, huge purses, or large buldging shopping bags.  If caught, these professional shoplifters, however, when apprehended, are prosecuted and banned from further entering stores where they have attempted to shoplift.

When a mother or father trains their children to steal, the entrenchment of becoming professional theives becomes deeper.  We have watched television episodes showing small children cooperating in these crimes, and due to them being minors, even if they are caught, they do not receive the same sentence as an adult.  This is a travesty of justice which can only be dealt with when the child reaches an age where he/she is waived over into an adult court.  Children who have this ferocious habit, unless it is corrected, carry it over into adulthood.  This, in itself, is a curse, for who would be willing to  trust those children  with anything of value.

Joshua, Chapter 7 of the Bible  recounts the retribution of a man who had stolen cothing and money.  As a result of his being a thief, the Israelites were defeated in a battle with the men of the country of Ai.  Joshua, the leader of the Israelites, inquired of God why they had been defeated.  God informed Joshua that there was some stolen property among the Israelites, and they would not be able to defeat anyone until the stolen goods were taken away.  Tribe by tribe was presented before the Lord until the tribe of Judah was brought, then the family of Zabdi, and finally Achan, the thief ,was brought forward.  After Achan confessed his theft, he and his family were killed, and the curse was  removed from the Israelites.

I maintain, therefore, that taking stolen items into one’s house  represents a curse in a very broad sense.  If that item or those items are discovered in one’s house by the authorities, there is surely a price to be paid by the entire family.  Back when I was a child,  we called stolen merchandise, “hot”.  Sometimes people would come by peddling linen at cheap prices.  There were also people who tried to sell towels with the names of hospitals written on them.  People could buy those items for a dollar or less.  Today, you will find a vast array of items at pawn shops which are “hot”.  Many pawn shops resale these these items even after making  their customers who sell  them items state that the merchandise has not been stolen.  Those confessionals are as weak as water.  Some thieves sell their merchandise out of town or give false addresses.  Policemen come to pawn shops periodically to find items that have been reported as stolen.

Society is the loser in a larger sense because of shoplifting.  Not only do we pick up the tabs with our taxes, but we see bonafide businesses leaving our neighborhoods and relocating elsewhere.  When a friend and I ran a business, my friend told me an elderly lady came in and shoplifted small expensive pieces of jewelry.  She would ask about the price of the pieces, however, when she left, the jewelry was gone too.  She wore pants with pockets where she into which she easily slipped our choice jewelry. Eventually, we had to close our shop.

Just think what it would be like if everyone was honest.  Just think what it would be like if your neighborhood could be a place where people could shop and keep the owners in business to help the people who live there.  Just think about the millions of honest people who are willing to pay for everything they get, and want nothing in return but fairness and respect.  I really do feel that this population far outnumbers those who choose to violate the law.

As losses escalate, thanks to more and advanced technology, shoplifters have it harder.  Micro-cameras are concealed in mannequins, on posts, or embedded in fixtures throughout the store.  These tiny cameras make the job of security guards and loss prevention experts easier.  Some stores now have such improved mechanisms to thwart thieves, that only the thieves who want to take risks dare attempt to steal.  Better yet, when ordinary civilians take it upon themselves to inform the store owners or clerks of people who are in the process of stealing, this will add to the early detection.  When we realize that we are our brother’s keeper, when we realize that what affects one, affects all, we will do all we can to make a shoplifter’s job as difficult as he/she is making our lives.

The human tendency to limit God’s power is a mistake we make often. I am not certain why we do this, but I suspect it is because we are incapable of understanding Him fully. I will attempt to explain.

We accept on faith that God created the universe and everything within it. Consider then the concept of distance. Imagine yourself traveling in a spaceship. Let us further imagine that you have traveled for more miles and years than you can count and you are still going. Our best scientists are not certain of what, exactly, lies beyond the known entity we refer to as “outer space.” Whatever it is, or is not, I doubt very seriously that you would finally, after an infinity of space travel, come across a cosmic, “You are here,” sign.

That was an attempt to lighten what I have already established as a serious notion. In God’s creation, there are more numbers than we can count, more distance than we can compute and, perhaps, a physical entity out there, (or, “in there,” as for all we know, an advanced civilization may exist in a sub atomic particle located upon the keyboard I am typing on), which we are not aware of and may not be capable of understanding if we did. With this in mind we should be able to understand the power of God a little more clearly.

It takes a measure of Christian, (or spiritual), maturity to begin to appreciate the power of God. I say, begin, because I do not believe that any of His people are capable of understanding Him fully. Again, we accept God as who He is on faith because that is the only option we have.

But, none of this means that we have to live our earthly lives totally unaware of this very import truth concerning God. Indeed, we are happier and more spiritually and emotionally whole when we see Him as He is. Can you think of anything more disturbing than belief in a God that had only limited powers and abilities? I cannot, for if God’s power is limited in any way, that means chaos and tragedy await us sometime later on. Today, we may be certain that when catastrophe and tragedies happen as we understand them to be, God is monitoring closely everything in His creation and may step in to intercede if and when He chooses.

I have heard it said; indeed, have myself taught it in Sunday school and occasionally from the pulpit, that God is love. Surely, God is love, but He is that and more. He is also all-knowing and all-powerful. If you have not spent time in contemplation of this, I urge you to do so now. The wisdom and power of God is something we are very grateful for and would be doomed without.

You may ask, “Why do I need to be grateful for God’s power. What is that to me?” Well, it took power for Him to be able to produce and build the creation as we know it. He took total emptiness and created everything. (Have any of our readers attempted writing a fiction novel? I have and let me tell you, it is exhausting because you are literally creating something from nothing). God conceived humanity and today there are billions of people in His spiritual roll call, each of us having that great and terrible thing we call freedom of choice, perhaps His greatest and noblest accomplishment. So, the answer to our question is, we are grateful that God has the power He does because without it, we would not be here.

We depend upon God’s mighty power. It may not be as important to us as His perfect and unconditional love, but still it is of major importance. What if God were a God of perfect love but had not the power to answer prayer? What if He could not heal us when sick, or was incapable of monitoring everything at all times and places? What if He were just a little less powerful than Satan? Unspeakable horror would await us then and we would be doomed. I doubt Satan would allow God to even exist as God does Satan were he the more powerful of the two.

There is a term in modern day vernacular. It is fashionable in our time to be able to “think outside of the box.” When we think of what God is capable of and apply it to our faith, then that is an exercise in thinking outside of the box. When we consider that God is the same yesterday, today and forever, we begin to exercise our minds and understanding. I have, in recent years, prayed from time to time for people long deceased. You may ask why I do this, as these people are gone and have already faced their maker. But, think about it, if we believe God can do anything, then we believe that he can not only hear but act upon prayer offered for somebody who passed from this life many years before any of us were born.

Is it possible, then, to change the course of past history in this way, to have an impact upon things that we perceive as over and done with? I do not know, but do know that, if God wills it to be that way, then that is the way it will be. I wonder, what has mankind been spared since creation on the strength of what is a weak and sporadic faith at best? This is only one of the possibilities we may contemplate when we accept that God’s power is absolute.

We touched upon the freedom of choice which men and women have been granted, referring to it as that great and terrible thing. Our Lord possesses something similar in His character that is in no way terrible, only great and mighty. I am not referring to love, which is the greatest thing He possesses and the most powerful thing bestowed upon a fallen and broken humanity. Rather, I am referring to His ability and willingness to forgive. As forgiveness applies to God, it is a powerful force for good. Because of it, mankind is redeemed from a wicked and evil nature and raised high in the eyes of the Lord. How thankful we must be for the extraordinary gifts of love and forgiveness God has granted to us. Can there be any doubt of the power of both?

In closing, let us sum up the power of our Lord in a way which most of us will be able to understand. Think of a very expensive, high quality automobile. Imagine that it is the finest and most comfortable automobile ever made or which ever will be made – a true thing of perfect craftsmanship and beauty. Correlate our perfect automobile to God’s love; something unique and wonderful in its own right. Now, think of the engine which powers this very special automobile. It is a marvel of engineering which allows our automobile to go faster and with greater smoothness and efficiency than any other vehicle in history. What we have here is superior power. For without it, our dream car goes nowhere and is therefore certainly nothing out of the ordinary. If the engine to our special automobile does not have sufficient power, it may not even be able to make it out of the garage. It goes from being something very special to something sub-par. The craftsmanship and beauty of this car still make it special in some ways, but no longer will we consider it the best and most advanced automobile of this age or any other, for it has insufficient power.

Do you see the point? God’s love and all of his other divine qualities would be diminished if He possessed anything less than the greatest power in existence. Without power to exercise His will and wishes on the universe he has created, He would be less than the God we know Him to be.

We know this cannot be. God’s power reinforces and affirms His divine being. In this we should have no doubts whatsoever and be very, very grateful.

You’ve heard it said that we serve a big God.   For us to really wrap our minds around that we need to stop, close our eyes and see God for who He is.  Or at least as much as our finite minds can comprehend.  I see a God who created a place for us to live.  Not only a place that holds all the beauty and majesty of my eyes, but a place that may be completely different and holds a different beauty in yours.

The rugged, breath taking peaks that reach to the clouds and set themselves up as the backdrop in the set of God’s own production.  The river that flows from them, mossy soaked banks holding back the raging waters that torrent from the peaks of snow.  The sounds of the towering pines and aspen blowing in the winds.  The deer grazing in the meadow raise their heads in startlement and peer through the woods as the twigs break and squirrels scamper away hoping to add to their feast carefully hidden away in the hollow of a tree.  The smell of freshness as the dew drips from the tree branches soaking the floor below.  The sun’s rays forcing their way through the trees that God laid so tightly together, each ray casting a light of hope to the new day ahead. This is one tiny scene in a small corner of the globe and a few minutes of time. See how big our God is?

Barely making out where the sky ends and the majestic sea begins, as far as you can see the blueness of its waters perform their intricate routine. Crashing on its shores, the untamable waves carve the sand and earth to make it’s own design, leaving behind the shimmering, opal shells of animals that once found life there. The winds blow across the surface carrying the boats to their destination and filling the air with the faint, unmistakable aroma of salty sea and it’s exhilarating power. The sun finds it’s way rising above the horizon and shines strongly over the shores as it warms its beaches and prepares the mysteries beneath for the new day. This is one tiny scene in a small corner of the globe and a few minutes of time. See how big our God is?