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Welcome!

On By LindaIn Uncategorized3 Comments

Welcome to Amazing God Stories!  Christian allegories, parables, analogies, fiction short stories as well as creative nonfiction stories that show the variety of amazing ways God has been working in my life. And if He has done all this for me, I can only imagine what He’s been doing for you!

My  goals are simple:

#4.  To brighten your day with a little entertainment, for you to leave feeling a bit better than when you arrived.

#3. To teach, warn, and clarify Biblical issues we face as Christians so we can be all that God calls us to be. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

#2.  To inspire you to keep on keeping on in your own walk with God.  God is working in your life as much as He’s working in mine. Maybe something I’ve learned or experienced will help you get through a rough patch or to grow in your own desire to know God.

And the #1 reason: To glorify God – to acknowledge and thank Him for all the ways He has been faithful to me! From the day I met Him, He has been by my side. He’s been my Friend, Coach, Counselor, Father, Teacher, Comforter, Defender,  Provider, and a million other things.

This blog is my way to shout to the world that GOD IS AMAZING!

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If my stories do what I hope they will do – like, comment, follow, and/or share them!

It would mean a lot to me to to know that they are being read and to hear what you think!

A Prayer for SIL, Day 67

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Lord Jesus, calm the storm raging in SIL just like You calmed the storm for Your apostles. She says she’s confused and clueless despite all the words I’ve spoken to her. Something in her is preventing her from seeing, hearing, and understanding.

But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded him. 1 John 2:11

For this people’s heart has grown dull and with their ears they can barely hear and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them. Acts 28:27

Lord, I know this is about people seeing and hearing You, but I feel like it’s also about SIL seeing and hearing me. She seems to fit this description exactly. She doesn’t want to see for seeing involves pain and she does everything she can to avoid pain just like she avoids responsibility for her part in the problems that are impacting her. This attitude seems so cemented in her that she may never change. But I know nothing is too strong for You. Nothing is impossible to You. I pray that You heal her, open her eyes and ears a little more each day until she can look into the light of truth and own what she’s done, so that she can repent and be freed and healed and restored.

In Your Brilliant Name,

Amen.

Life is Like Enlarging a Fish Pond, Part 14 – Waiting

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I glared at the rain through my window. It had arrived earlier than expected interrupting me as I painted the two 4×6 boards. Everything was waiting on these two boards. I couldn’t finish arranging the rocks around my pond or rearrange the water irises or plant any new land plants until the bridge was installed. And we couldn’t install the bridge until the foundation boards – these boards – were in place. And now it would be days before they dried enough to finish painting them.

I hate waiting. Waiting for flowers to multiply and bloom. Waiting for my husband to help with something I can’t do on my own. Waiting for the light to turn green. Waiting for the nurse to call my name. Waiting for the arrival of a special day.

Often over the years, if I could make something happen to shorten the wait, I would. If God appeared to be taking too long, I would help Him get it done. When someone was too slow at finishing a project, I would do it for them. And in many of those occasions, I ended up regretting it.

However, the older I get, the more I find myself accepting times of waiting as part of life. I have experienced God’s timing countless times, and the times I waited on Him always turned out better than when I grew impatient and ran ahead of Him.

The key to waiting patiently has to do with my eyes. When I focused on the situation, I stressed about the delay. My impatience impacted how I felt and acted. But slowly, as I trained my eyes to focus on God and His promises instead of on the current situations, waiting became easier. God doesn’t worry about time. His plans will be accomplished regardless of anything that I see as delays. So if He’s not worried about the when, why should I? My life is in His hands – and that includes not only what happens but when it happens.

I still hate waiting. But I don’t try to force my plans to happen on my schedule as often. After today’s initial disappointment of the rain, I relaxed and allowed God to be God in this area of my life also. I directed my attention to Him and to the things I could do while I waited – like working on my Bible study, doing laundry, and taking a nap. Sometimes, it seems that it’s in the waiting that God works on our behalf.  And someday I may grow to the point when I don’t have even the initial disappointment.

Thoughts to ponder:

Rain will fall on everyone’s plans sooner or later. In the spiritual realm, it’s not about what the rain does to your plans. It’s about what you do in the wait.

Do you waste time as you fret over the change in your plans?

Do you view the delay as an enemy attack and fight it?

Do you accept it as is and use your time waiting in a productive way?

Do you trust in the Lord’s timing?

Scriptures:

But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel. But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness and put God to the test in the desert. Psalm 106:13-14

Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in sprit is better than the proud in spirit. Ecclesiastes 7:8

And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. Hebrews 6:15

You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. James 5:8

The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. Lamentations 3:25

A Prayer for SIL, Day 66

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Jesus, I lift up SIL to You again, for Your continued work in her. It feels like it’s been so long, but You see what I can’t. You know what she needs. You know where she resists You and why. And You know how to fix her.

Looking to Jesus, to founder and perfecter of our faith. Hebrews 12:2a

Jesus, You are the founder of her faith, the faith that once guided all her thoughts and behavior, the faith that filled her with overwhelming love for You, the faith that now seems to be just glowing embers in a dying fire. You are also the perfecter of her faith. Only You can restore the fire and rekindle her love for You, and fill her with faith that rules her heart and mind. Continue to work in her as Your Word says You do. I know that You love her and won’t give up on her.

In Your Perfecting Hands,

Amen.

The Deadly Barcode

On By LindaIn allegories, analogies, and parablesLeave a comment

By AJ and Didi

Once upon a time there was a barcode walking through town. And then he saw an exclamation point. Exclamation Point walked up to Bar Code until he was three inches from him and stared and stared at him. And then Exclamation Point fainted. The whole town stared in horror.

The next day Bar Code saw a period. Period walked up to Bar Code until he was three inches away and stared and stared at him. And then Period fainted. The whole town stared in horror.

On the third day Bar Code saw a question mark. Question Mark walked up to Bar Code until he was three inches away and stared and stared at him. And then Question Mark fainted. The whole town stared in horror.

On the fourth day Bar Code met a comma. Comma walked up to Bar Code until he was three inches away and stared and stared at him. And then Comma fainted. The whole town stared in horror.

This continued to happen for a whole month.  And then the whole town started calling him the Deadly Bar Code.

So don’t stare and stare at a bar code or else your town will stare in horror at you.

At first glance as AJ dictated her story to me, it seemed to make no sense. Just a fun imaginative story from a seven-year-old. But then my spiritual ears perked up. There was something of value in this story. A spiritual nugget of truth and a warning.

What if we replaced “bar code” with “sin”? Then the story would be about sin moving through a group of believers. Someone approaches the sin and looks at it at length (stares) which eventually ends in disaster (death). The rest of the people are then filled with the fear of the Lord (horror).

 Consider the case of Ananias and Sapphira.

But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it.  Acts 5:1-5

This is not the only example we have.

Eve drew close to the serpent and focused on (stared at) the fruit. So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Genesis 3:6

Achan drew near and considered (stared at) the forbidden things at the fall of Jericho. “when I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, then I coveted them and took them. And see, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath.” Joshua 7:21

David’s heart drew near and longed for (stared at) Bathsheba when she was bathing. Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. 2 Samuel 11:2

In each case, a glance became a stare which led to coveting and then a sinful act. And in each case, those who saw it were horrified by the result of the sin.

The moral of this story is found in the words of a children’s song: be careful little eyes what you see. There’s no telling how many times Eve may have glanced at the fruit before that day, but on that day her glance became a stare which led to coveting and then to sinful disobedience. Achan and David followed the same pattern in their own temptations. Most of the time we can’t control what we glimpse, but we can control what we allow our minds to dwell on. Jesus said if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. He didn’t mean to literally remove your eye, but the warning is clear. Don’t stare at sin.

Scriptures:

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

For the wages of sin is death Romans 6:23a

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Genesis 3:6

And at the seventh time, when the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout, for the Lord has given you the city. And the city and all that is within it shall be devoted to the Lord for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent. But you, keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction, lest when you have devoted them you take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel a thing for destruction and bring trouble upon it. But all silver and gold, and every vessel of bronze and iron, are holy to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord. Joshua 6:16-19

But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things, for Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. And the anger of the Lord burned against the people of Israel. Joshua 7:1

 “when I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, then I coveted them and took them. And see, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath.” Joshua 7:21

Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. 2 Samuel 11:2

I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin? Job 31:1

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8

A Prayer for SIL, Day 65

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If your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you, and they turn again and acknowledge your name and pray and plead with you in this house, Then hear from heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their pleas and maintain their cause and forgive your people who have sinned against you.  2 Chronicles 6:24, 39

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.  2 Chronicles 7:14

Jesus, if SIL is defeated before the enemy because she has sinned against You, if the problems she is having is the result of sin, I pray that she turns and acknowledges Your name like she did once before. As she prays and pleads with You, hear her prayer and forgive her. I pray that she humbles herself and seeks Your face, and that she turns from her self-centered ways and centers her heart and mind on You so that You will hear her and forgive her and heal her in every way – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

In Your Waiting Arms,

Amen.

A Prayer for SIL, Day 64

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Lord, walk close beside SIL today, and whisper in her ear each time her foot strays from the straight and narrow path that leads to eternal life with You.

In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:6

Do not swerve to the right or to the left, turn your foot away from evil. Proverbs 4:27

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. Isaiah 30:21

Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. Matthew 7:13-14

Lord, I pray SIL is one of the few who finds the narrow gate. Direct her steps and open her eyes to the spiritual world, to the battle waging over and for her. I pray she abandons the fence she is straddling with one foot in Your kingdom and one foot in the world. I pray that she chooses to stand with both feet firmly in Your kingdom and begins walking the narrow path You have designed for us.

In Your Guiding Name,

Amen.

A Prayer for SIL, Day 63

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Jesus, pour your healing ointment on SIL’s eyes and pour the balm of Your Spirit into her heart. Show her as she sleeps her state with and in You. Show her how to get out from where she is. Pull her out of the pit she has allowed to form due to complacency and neglect. Open her eyes to the fact that she is even in a pit. Or that she is in a cage in which she is trying to make herself comfortable rather than to seek freedom.

Behold, the wicked man conceives evil and is pregnant with mischief and gives birth to lies. He makes a pit, digging it out and falls into the hole that he has made. His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends. Psalm 7:14-16

Lord, at first glance this scripture doesn’t seem to be about SIL. It’s too violent. Too evil. But as I consider it, I’m seeing it differently. And so I pray…

Behold, SIL, a woman of lawlessness, who lives for herself and follows the rules she wants. She conceives self-centeredness and is pregnant with the world’s standards in some areas which gives birth to lies that she believes and that she tells herself. Her years of spiritual, emotional, physical, and cognitive neglect have dug out a pit for her into which she has fallen. All that she has scoffed at, ridiculed, dismissed, or ignored, all the gaslighting that she has done has returned to her, weighing down her head and mind. But instead of rejecting, repenting and crying out to you, she is blaming everyone else.

If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword, he has bent and readied his bow, he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts. Psalm 7:12

Lord, I pray Your weapons will be of mercy and salvation. May SIL cry out to You for deliverance.

In Your Merciful Name,

Amen.

A Prayer for SIL, Day 62

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Father, You created us. You know us. You know where we hurt and why we act like we do. You know what keeps us bound and what we cling to.

O Lord, you have searched me and know me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Psalm 139:1-3

And you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. John 8:22

Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. John 14:6a

Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. Hebrews 7:25

Father, I know You have searched and know SIL. You know when she sits down and when she rises up. You discern her thoughts, search out her path, and are acquainted with all her ways. I pray that Your Truth will set her free from her past, from her sin, and from her ongoing failures. She tends to use her own reasoning when making decisions. I pray that You draw her near to the Father and show her that You are the way as well as the truth and the life she seeks. Thank you for interceding for her. It’s reassuring to know that You fully know and understand her and thus You know exactly how and what to pray for her.

In Your Capable Hands,

Amen.

A Prayer for SIL, Day 61

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Lord Jesus, Lord of all, be Lord of SIL’s heart once again. May she proclaim You Lord in every area of her life.

Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! Psalm 33:8

As the earth is called to fear You, call SIL to also fear You, to stand in such awe of You that she lets go of her grip on her own self-centered desires and seeks instead to live by Your desires day by day. Heal her in every area that would hinder her from recommitting herself to You. Fill her heart with the desire to serve You, to clean up her life to remove obstacles between her and You, and to live in love with You like she once did.

In Your Awesome Name,

Amen.

A Prayer for SIL, Day 60

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Jesus, I hold up SIL to You this morning. Heal her physically, emotionally, and spiritually. She says she knows that You call us to holy lives, yet she doesn’t think twice about doing things her way even when they contradict Your Word. Show her where she strays from the life You want her to live. Show her when her light is tainted by selfish desires.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellences of him who call you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:16

Lord, help her to remember she is here to exalt You in what she says and does. I pray that You call her out of the darkness she has lived in for so long, that You heal the pain and scars that bind her, so that she will be free to live the life You made her for and so that her life will reflect Your light to those around her.

In Your Marvelous Name,

Amen