Many of us pray for unsaved loved ones for long periods of time. It can easily become discouraging when we see nothing happening in their lives that would indicate God was at work. I found myself in that place recently. As a matter of fact, by all indications, I not only didn’t see God at work but I saw things get a bit darker.

As I listened to the radio one morning I heard the testimony of Lysa Terkurst. She had gone through a period of rebellion in her life and is currently the President of Proverbs 31 Ministries. A woman who turned away from God and did her own thing is now being used of the Lord in a wonderful way. God had continued to work in her heart through every circumstance and poor choice. After sharing her rebellious days as an athiest she stopped and said, “even a person who doesn’t believe has the fingerprints of God all over them.” For me, the picture that came to mind was each prayer that is prayed puts another fingerprint on our loved one. I was so encouraged, knowing how many people are praying for my children and knowing that God’s work is often unseen. Just as a fingerprint doesn’t always show, it nevertheless is there. I believe that God’s hands are at work in the lives of those I desperately want to see come back to fellowship with Jesus. Today, trust that your loved one is in God’s hands. Know He is at work! Keep praying!

“The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” James 5:16b
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Cor. 5:7

Kathy Withers

Kathy’s on staff at America’s KESWICK in the Development Department. Kathy has been married to her husband Dave for 26 years. They have two adult children. Kathy is active in her local church and has previously served as a Teaching Director for Community Bible Study. Her passion is to encourage women to deepen their walk with Jesus Christ by finding and living out the truths of God’s Word.

Like our blood, our attitude is best displayed when we are cut, scraped, or injured. When things don’t go our way, our attitude is most evident to others.

My son gave me a copy of his dog tags for Christmas. The tags have his name first, his identification number and then his blood type and his religion. His reads:
A Positive
Christian

I couldn’t help but think that is the way I want to be known: A positive person who follows Jesus Christ. Too often I fall into a pattern of negativity and criticism. Like our blood type, our attitude isn’t something that we put on, it’s the life that flows through us.

If you hold up a new bottle of water and you shake it with the cap off, what comes out? Why? Water comes out of course, because water was inside. When we are shaken, what comes out? Does negativity and poison flow out of you or does pure fresh, life-giving water flow out?

Maybe you would have to answer that a negative attitude would come out. You might say, I’m a pessimistic person, that’s just the way I am. The fact is you can be transformed inside.

Romans 1:1-2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

How do we do that? By practicing Phil 4:8-9…
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me-put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

If you had a spiritual dog tag, what would it say? A negative Christian, or A Positive Christian?

Joyce Hayes
Artist-in-residence

“Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it.” Matthew 7:13-14

I was walking last week during the afternoon near the upper lake; it felt like a spring day, it was beautiful out. The sun was brilliant and warm against my face, and then I was so absorbed by the moment that I kept on walking towards the woods. I walked into the woods, the entrance was broad, easy to enter, and this is something that I don’t do often. I kept walking and came upon the small bridge looking onto the lake in which the men were working, not sure what the men were doing. I stood there for awhile and talking with God I then realized I went too far, I have to get back.

I wanted to get closer to the lake, to observe the work that was being done. I saw a very narrow path close to the lake, as I walked towards the path and entered it I looked behind and saw the path that I first entered in was broad and inviting. I thought, I should have taken that path to go back, it was much easier. As I walked, it was difficult, I had to be careful of my steps, of my surroundings and I had to stay focused to get to the end of the path. I stopped for a moment to look at the lake, it seemed audible, the Lord was speaking; this is the way our Lord wants His children to walk. The Lord reminded me of the verse, walk the narrow path it leads to life. As I walked out, I was joyful to have spent time with the Lord and feeling the sun on my face again. My confidence is in the Lord, always guiding and protecting me.

May I encourage all, no matter how difficult our situations can be, to keep our eyes focused on the Lord. “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” James 1:2-3

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?” Micah 6:8

Glory to God

Sandra Valdes
WOC Graduate

I started reading through the Bible again this year and I am currently in Leviticus. It’s tough reading — the Lord is giving Moses all of the very specific, detailed instructions regarding the different sacrifices Aaron and the priests would need to make in order to make atonement for themselves and for the people. There is a lot of reference to blood, internal organs, etc. Because I believe the Word when it says, “ALL Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,” (2 Timothy 3:16, emphasis mine), I was really struggling with what exactly the Lord would have me to learn through my reading in Leviticus. As I was meditating and praying this morning, He brought the following thoughts to my mind and heart.

Throughout these instructions, there is the often repeated direction that the animal must be “free from blemish” or “without defect.” These flawless animals were to bear the judgment for the sins of the people. How seriously would I take my sin, and how careful would I be not to sin, if I knew that an innocent animal would need to be slaughtered to pay the price? I would feel terrible knowing that animal’s death was my fault.

For all of us believers living under the new covenant, Jesus is our perfect sacrifice, free from blemish and without defect. He bore God’s judgment and wrath for all of my sins, and for yours. How much more sorrow should I feel for my sin, knowing it put my precious Lord and Savior on a cross to die an unthinkable death, to have His Father turn His back on Him, to bear the weight of all that guilt and shame? Knowing that my sin has already been paid for, that I am forgiven, because of what Christ did for me on that cross as the once-for-all sacrifice who was the only perfect sinless One is cause to rejoice, but it should also cause me to take my sin very seriously. Out of deep heartfelt love and gratitude, I should seek, by His grace and strength, to live a life that is pleasing to Him.

Romans 6:1&2 “What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?”
Romans 6:15-16 “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey-whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?”

Oh Lord, forgive me for the times I have taken my sin too lightly. “Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me……..May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” (Ps. 19:12b-13a, 14)

Stacey Poplawski
WOC Graduate

Yesterday I shared about the story of Saint Patrick’s captivity into the land of Ireland. You were challenged to believe that TRUTH set Patrick free from slavery and can set you free from whatever may be holding you captive. Today let us continue to review the life of Saint Patrick.

After Patrick found his way home, he felt a strong calling to return to Ireland. Although his family begged him to never leave them again, he could not forsake the call on his life. Patrick returned to Ireland. Ireland was a pagan nation and Patrick used a pagan feast to demonstrate the power of the one true God.

“All over Ireland fires were to be extinguished until a signal blaze was lit by Druidic priests at Tara, the seat of the kings where the chieftains of Ireland had gathered. On the hill opposite the valley from Tara, Patrick lit a fire to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. The Druids warned King Laoghaire that the fire would blaze forever in this land unless it be this very night extinguished. Repeated efforts were made to put out the fire and to kill the one who had ignited it (Patrick). The Druids and magicians used all of their black magic and occult powers, but they had no effect on the one who represented the all-powerful God. As a result, Laoghaire, supreme monarch of Ireland, gave Patrick permission to preach his faith throughout the land. The sacred fire of evangelism burned brightly, dispelling the darkness of paganism.” It seems the prophesy of the Druids came true, the fire of TRUTH that was lit never was extinguished. In fact it spread far from the nation of Ireland — missionaries were sent to Scotland, England, France, Belgium and Germany, preaching the TRUTH of Jesus Christ.

When the Lord is so gracious as to set us free, what a blessing it is to then go and share the TRUTH. To bless others and most especially those who hurt us, can bring amazing healing into our lives. Dear one, as the Lord sets you free and you become grounded in the TRUTH, know that a most wonderful joy awaits you. It is an amazing joy to be used to minister TRUTH to those in need. As you go forth you may want to pray as Patrick did when he fought the powers of darkness to bring Christ’s light to the Emerald Isle:

“Christ, as a light,Illumine and guide!
Christ, as a shield, o’ershadow and cover me!
Christ, be under me! Christ, be over me!
Christ, be beside me, On left hand and right!
Christ, be before me, behind me, about me
Christ, this day be within and without me!

Patricia L. Wenzel
WOC graduate

Material taken from The Power of One Christ-Like Life by Francis Frangipane

Part 1

The month of March can be a long, wet month as the earth begins its transformation from winter to spring. It can, as the saying goes, “come in like a lion and (thankfully) out like a lamb”. Perhaps that is why many look forward to March 17th when many celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day.

There is good reason to celebrate the TRUTH of what we know about Saint Patrick. Legend and historical facts have become intertwined over the years, yet from information I can gather, he was surely used mightily to turn the nation of Ireland from idolatry to TRUTH. Let me share a few pieces of that information.

Patrick was the son of a nobleman who was captured by a band of pirates from his homeland in Britain and was taken to Ireland. Not unlike the story of Joseph in the scripture, he was sold into slavery. As with Joseph and true to His Word, the Lord never left or forsook Patrick (Hebrews 13:5). Patrick had a cruel master who was a pagan warlord. Yet, even at the young age of 16, TRUTH had been planted in his heart. Later in life he wrote of this time, “The love and the fear of God and faith increased so much, and the spirit of prayer so grew within me, that I often prayed a hundred times in the day….The Spirit was burning within me.” Patrick so developed his personal relationship with God that he heard what the Spirit of the Lord was saying to him. One day he heard a voice in his dreams telling him, “Behold, the ship is ready for you.” Patrick escaped and made a miraculous journey home.

Have you or someone you love been taken captive? Perhaps not sold into slavery as Joseph or Patrick, but held captive by a behavior pattern, a sin, that you/they just can’t seem to break. What set Patrick free will set each of us free today. It is TRUTH. The TRUTH was planted in the heart of Patrick. It led him to his freedom. The Word of God tells us: “And you shall know the TRUTH, and the TRUTH shall make you free” (John 8:32). Patrick made a choice to believe that TRUTH. He did not allow his heart to harden and so he developed an ear to hear what the Spirit of God was saying to him. “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Gal 5:16). I am sure he battled the thoughts in his mind. The enemy of our soul loves to deceive us and engage us in a battle in our mind. He wants us to think that we should rely on ourselves rather than the Word of God. That, my friend leads to nothing but a dead end or complete frustration.

Let me encourage you today to rely on God. Here is something I did long ago and I will invite you to do today. Get a small brown paper lunch bag. Write “GOD” on the bag in big letters. Keep it somewhere where you will see it. Next, write on pieces of paper those things you want to get free of. Put them into the bag and say “Dear God I turn my struggle with _______ over to You. I know You are the One Who can set me free, for You are the TRUTH and the TRUTH shall set me free. Thank you Lord, I will walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the desires of my flesh by the power of Jesus name.” You may need to say that prayer every morning for awhile. Little by little, day by day as you are faithful to turn your mind and will over to TRUTH you will have a testimony to share about how Jesus set you free.

Patricia Wenzel
WOC Graduate

Material taken from The Power of One Christ-Like Life by Francis Frangipane

A CNN commentator recently made that observation while covering the homegoing of Whitney Houston.

Whatever your opinion of the coverage or the situation itself, you are certainly entitled to have it. I just want to make this observation: Jesus Christ continues to amaze me! Only He could take a tragic loss of life and turn it into a church service that lifted up His Name as the world watched.

The statement about the world going to church has a lot of truth to it. Millions of people, who might ordinarily never have watched a church service, tuned in to see the coverage given to a star. She was respectfully honored. More importantly, God was honored. The One Who made her and hung the stars took center stage. The whole truth is that one day, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Thank you, Lord, for loving the world so much and for using whatever and whomever You want to make Your Name known.

Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11 (NKJV)

Dina Seaton
Marketing Assistant, Staff Writer

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a livingsacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

The Words we say and the life we share with others can touch a heart and person in ways that we might not ever know. Your words and life can cut like a knife, they can refresh like the smell of rain on a new spring morning, they can put you to sleep like a warm glass of milk (or maybe like a harsh sleeping pill), or they can drive you crazy like an itch you cannot reach.

Words…..what are they and what were they meant for? They are group of letters that can form a word that can form a sentence, which can form a memory. We all have words but how do we use them? Some of us enjoy using them as a knife and love to watch them cut someone down. Some of us use them to encourage people like the smell of a spring rain. Some of us use them to annoy others so that they itch so much they cannot stand the sound of our voice. What do you use them for?

How many times do we refer to a preacher we heard and we quote…”I don’t remember his name but what he said changed my life.” Or maybe it was the older lady who lived down the street that showed you a memorable moment in time. This event stuck with you for years and although you don’t remember her name, you remember her words and life example.

I learned a lesson a few years ago that has stayed with me…….I used to speak at a church twice a month for a ladies event. Never really putting too much thought into what an impact I could be having, I added this to my monthly routine of events. Each month I would share the gospel and a short devotion to these women. Nothing out of the ordinary, or so I thought….just a quick devotion that the Lord would lay on my heart. Well…it was an early, hot Saturday morning and we decided to hit the garage sales in a town we don’t frequent. We all headed around to the different tables and I spotted something that I knew I just had to show to my husband….I called for him and we started chatting. Just then a woman came over to me and said, “Are you the lady that is the speaker at ABC church”. I greeted her hesitantly, not sure of how she knew me or why she was asking. I was not in a fimilar place and I felt out of my comfort zone to greet her. After chatting with her …her response to me was that she recognized my voice…..not me or what I looked like but the sound of my voice. My tones and sounds left an impression on her. She also said she was watching me walk around with my family and she said you are like when you speak….kind. Wow, what a rude awakening for me….someone listened to my voice and remembered it and watched my life and it was “kind”. Can I say that my tones, and sounds and life are always kind and are they something that I want everyone to remember?

I gave a message last year at a ladies event here at Keswick….I talked about attitude and how it affects so many in our lives. I also referred to that I have now set myself up, since I am the one who will answer your call when you phone Keswick. My attitude behind a platform can be professional, poised, and well delivered but when I have had a bad day, how will it be when I answer the phone and greet you? What words will you hear and how will my life impact you today? Again, I had someone say one day when I answered the phone…”are you the woman who did the seminar in October?” Oh boy, my first thought was how “did I answer the phone?” People do watch and listen to your words and life.

You know….more than just being a professional person in speaking engagements, or on the phone in guest services, I must be a picture of Christ and also be an example with my words and life all the time. How have your words and life example made a memory in someone else’s life? Can they say you were kind, even when you didn’t know that anyone was watching or listening? Can they see a kind person even on a bad day, or better yet a picture of Christ?

Lynn Wilson

Lynn is a wife and a mother of two boys & is currently on staff at America’s Keswick. For several years she has been involved in her local church and hosts her own women’s ministry in her home called Thumb Print Ministries. Her mission statement would be to…touch one life so in turn they can touch a life for eternity. Her greatest joy is to go home at the end of her work day and cook up soups from scratch and other homemade goodies for her family.

Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee.
Take my voice and let me sing,
Always, only for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee.
Take my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose.
Take my will and make it Thine,
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own,
It shall be Thy royal throne.
by Frances R. Havergal

Luke 7:13 “When the Lord saw her, His heart overflowed with compassion. “Don’t cry!” He said” (NLT).

I realize that this verse is referring to another situation involving Christ, but the picture this passage describes always touches me. Do we as Christians tend to show this kind of tender compassion?

I think of my dear friend who didn’t attend church for years. The reason? When my friend was quite young she had a therapeutic abortion at a doctor’s suggestion. This was long before Roe vs. Wade and long before the protestant Christians were known to take a stand against abortion. My friend had no one to guide her; she was frightened and uninformed. She had no hesitation in telling people of her decision. I am certain she would not choose to abort at this time.

Years later she heard a woman from her church call her a “baby killer.” Instead of drawing my friend towards the church and other Christians, that lady’s comment drove my friend away from church and the love and compassion she needed so badly. My friend was hurting so deeply. Because she did not find compassion within the church, she stopped attending church. Years later, my friend finally returned to a new church where she found true compassion and acceptance and almost NO judgment!
Do people who have strayed from God’s plan know they will find compassion with you? Can you honestly give the person a compassionate hug and say “Don’t cry! God still loves you!”

Marilyn Willett Heavilin

Marilyn is a wife and mother, author, and international conference and retreat speaker. She and her husband Glen serve as Counselors-in-Residence at America’s KESWICK during the summer months.

“I ask great things of a great God.” The Valley of Vision pg. 6

When was the last time you asked a great thing of God? Something you CAN’T do, make happen or accomplish? Something that, humanly speaking, is downright impossible?
Are you praying big prayers? I’m not suggesting an arrogant heart or demanding anything of God but rather a humble request made to a great God fully aware of His greatness, goodness and sovereignty.

Every time you pray for an unsaved family member or friend, you are praying a great prayer. For any soul to be saved, God must act by His Spirit to regenerate that one’s dead spirit. There is nothing they can say or do, there is nothing you can say or do to make that happen. When that loved one comes to Christ it is a result of the working of the Holy Spirit giving them life leading to their faith response. That is a great prayer – let us never forget we are asking God a humanly impossible thing when we pray for one’s soul.

When we ask God great things we need to persist in hope, believing Him for His promises and goodness and that He is able to do abundantly above all we ask or imagine. Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Ask great things of a great God.

Blessings,
Diane

Diane Hunt is part of the ministry team at America’s Keswick. She is a regular writer for Victory Call and one of the authors of Crossing the Jordan Bible Study. Diane has been married to her husband John over 27 years. She has 2 adult children and 3 grandchildren and 3 adult step-children with 7 grandchildren making 10 in all. She delights reading and teaching, but mostly laughing at the funny things her grandchildren say and do.

Footnotes:
a. James 1:17 Some manuscripts variation due to a shadow of turning
Cross references:
A. James 1:17 : Ps. 85:12; John 3:27; 1 Cor. 4:7
B. James 1:17 : 1 John 1:5
C. James 1:17 : Mal. 3:6