Faith and Life Blog

The steps of the righteous man are ordered by the Lord…Psalm 37:23   Recently I saw a post on Facebook which said that sometimes God delays us where we are because He knows that there is a storm ahead.  I was really encouraged as I meditated on this thought.  Our loving Father, who sees danger ahead, prevents us from moving forward as the danger ahead is not part of His plan for us. Then a few days later as I was chitchatting with my co-worker, she related how the previous afternoon she was delayed at the office until 6 pm as she could not find her car keys. She had retraced her steps to areas of the office that she had been to before and searched her bag several times. She even emptied the contents and searched the various compartments of her bag to no avail. At the end of her rope, she called out to God in her distress. Immediately, He answered by telling her to check her bag one more time. Of course, she resisted the idea because she had checked several times before.  Nevert

  pub-3751615692135036 For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.   In  their  hands, they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone . Psalm 91:11-12 New King James Version (NKJV) Recently I had an experience that I believe was divinely ordained. I was about to head home after a women’s meeting at church. I got in the car and turned the key in the ignition. Nothing. Strange, I thought. I took the key out and tried again. Still nothing. I did all the checks. The car was in drive, the footbrake had been released. So why wasn’t the car moving? I decided not to panic. At the suggestion of one of my passengers, I took out the key again, waited a few minutes, and then try to restart the engine. The result was the same. I was at a loss. Then my friend decided to seek the assistance of one of the deacons. He came, he tried and got the same result. He thought maybe there was an issue with the battery. He checked and everything was fine.

Every month I set aside some funds to assist someone in need. This month, as I made my budget, I asked God to show me who I should help. Immediately, a particular relative came to mind. I had intended to visit him on Sunday and so I decided that I would take the money to him at that time. During my lunchtime, I suddenly had the thought that I should send the money to his account right away. I didn't hesitate. When I sent him a message to alert him that the money had been sent to his account he was most grateful. He declared that it must be God who had sent me. He had received far less than his usual salary, due to loan commitments and was in a difficult situation. He was more than grateful for this unexpected cash. That was certainly a move of God! I am so happy that I listened to that still, small voice. To God be the glory. https://shellijohnson.com/listen-to-your-still-small-voice/

< pub-3751615692135036 p> Who Makes the Coffee?? A married couple was arguing about who is making the coffee. The wife said that in the Bible it says that men should make the coffee and the husband asked her where it said that. The wife opened the Bible and said:  "Right here in HEBREWS!" https://www.beliefnet.com/ilovejesus/features/hilarious-christian-jokes.aspx Proverbs 17:22  says, “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.”  The Proverbs are wise sayings written by wise men such as King Solomon of Israel, inspired by God Himself. God has made us in such a way that joy and humor are meant to be vital parts of our lives. https://shcofchapelhill.com/chaplains_corner/a-joyful-heart-is-good-medicine/#:

pub-3751615692135036   Everything that we have—right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start—comes from God by way of Jesus Christ...”  Romans 8:11  (MSG)   It is said that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and I recently had a personal experience that proves that this saying is quite true. Recently, I threw out an old fan which I had bought years ago when I started working after leaving University. Though it could still function somewhat, it wasn’t as effective as when I first bought it. Constant use over the years had started to take its toll.   It could no longer rotate; it had started to rust and the head was almost severed from the trunk. To me, it was not worth fixing. It seemed useless so I threw it out. Out with the old, in with the new. To my surprise, within a few hours it had found a new owner. My neighbour took it from the garbage heap, cleaned it off, used a piece of cloth to tie the almost severed head and in no time, he had a “new”

  pub-3751615692135036 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence  is  fullness of joy; At Your right hand  are  pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11) God is omnipresent, so why do we speak of being in His presence? Is there a difference? Yes, there is. While God is everywhere and is always with us, do we always acknowledge Him? Do we seek to spend time with Him? These are questions that we all need to ponder. The most common Hebrew term for ‘presence’ is panim , which is also translated ‘ face ,’ implying “a close and personal encounter with the Lord,” according to  Baker’s Biblical dictionary . Being in the presence of the Lord therefore means that one must have a close encounter with Him. In other words, there must be fellowship, communion and intimacy. There must be relationship. And as we all know, building a relationship takes time and effort. It must be intentional. It does not happen by chance. As the saying goes, it does not happen by osmosis. How then do we get

pub-3751615692135036   But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Matthew 4:4   I was extremely hungry and my stomach was staging a massive protest. How much longer will I have to wait for my lunch to get here? I wondered. I had ordered my lunch more than an hour ago and the promised delivery was still not forthcoming. I waited and I waited, trying without much success, to continue working until it arrived. Eventually, it did and I was able to satisfy the hunger that I had been experiencing.    A few hours later, starting to feel peckish again, I reached into my lunch bag for my usual afternoon snack. To my surprise, there was an assortment of snack items that I had totally forgotten about! I could have quenched the hunger I felt before my lunch arrived, but my memory had failed me.   That led me to wonder. How often have we gone hungry, not remembering that God has a feast await