Friends and Family,
Please take a couple seconds and visit www.mnch.org
Please consider helping the Murphy family in their work at MNCH. If you can't help at this time, then please ask your friends, family, and or congregation to help further the Kingdom by assisting the Lord's work on the Navajo Reservation.
Don't forget to pray for all involved in this work. Contact info for Brent Murphy and MNCH can be found on their website.
Sisterly,
Paula
Mark 16:15-16
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Seeking Peace Today and Everyday
Bad things happen to good people. It happened in the beginning to Abel. It happened to Joseph, Daniel, Job, Paul, James, Stephen and it even happened to the only begotten son of God; it happened to Jesus. As hard as it is to hear, bad things will continue to happen to good people as long as we walk this Earth.
As we reflect on these last few days and think of the days to come, I hope we and others will seek peace and find it in the Word of God.
Psalm 34
1 I will extol the LORD at all times;
His praise will always be on my lips.
2 My soul will boast in the LORD;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3 Glorify the LORD with me;
let us exalt His name together.
4 I sought the LORD, and He answered me;
He delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to Him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him;
He saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him,
and He delivers them.
8 Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.
9 Fear the LORD, you His saints,
for those who fear Him lack nothing.
10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
11 Come, my children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12 Whoever of you loves life
and desires to see many good days,
13 keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking lies.
14 Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous
and His ears are attentive to their cry;
16 the face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them;
He delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
19 A righteous man may have many troubles,
but the LORD delivers him from them all;
20 He protects all His bones,
not one of them will be broken.
21 Evil will slay the wicked;
the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
22 The LORD redeems His servants;
no one will be condemned who takes refuge in Him.
As we reflect on these last few days and think of the days to come, I hope we and others will seek peace and find it in the Word of God.
Psalm 34
1 I will extol the LORD at all times;
His praise will always be on my lips.
2 My soul will boast in the LORD;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3 Glorify the LORD with me;
let us exalt His name together.
4 I sought the LORD, and He answered me;
He delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to Him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him;
He saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him,
and He delivers them.
8 Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.
9 Fear the LORD, you His saints,
for those who fear Him lack nothing.
10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
11 Come, my children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12 Whoever of you loves life
and desires to see many good days,
13 keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking lies.
14 Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous
and His ears are attentive to their cry;
16 the face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them;
He delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
19 A righteous man may have many troubles,
but the LORD delivers him from them all;
20 He protects all His bones,
not one of them will be broken.
21 Evil will slay the wicked;
the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
22 The LORD redeems His servants;
no one will be condemned who takes refuge in Him.
Monday, April 02, 2007
Sometimes Life Stinks
Genesis 6-8
Our six-year-old daughter recently received a new Bible from her Sunday morning Bible class teacher. Inside the front cover was a short note explaining how important it was for her to read her Bible every night and if she couldn’t read it, then someone in her family would always read it to her.
This made an impact on our youngest so each night she finds a place and we start reading. The other night she opened her Bible to the story of Noah. After I finished reading we began to discuss how God saved Noah and his family from the flood. We talked about God’s salvation and how good He is to us and how one day, He will save us, too. She thought about that for a moment then made a face.
“What?” I asked.
“It's a good story but…” she answered in her sweet little voice.
“But what?” I inquired.
“But it sure was stinky in there!”
When Life Stinks
Job says life is short with many troubles (Job 14:1) but why is it we’re shocked when life doesn’t turn out the way we think it should? Maybe our parents were abusive. Maybe our spouse didn’t remain faithful. Maybe we lost a child, a spouse, a best friend or a great job? Maybe we just received a diagnosis that could turn into a death sentence? Maybe none of these have happened, yet.
There are many times and ways that life may stink and there is nothing we can do about it. Complaining won’t fix it. Walking away won’t fix it. Blaming God won’t fix it, either. Bad times come with the territory. Life is hard. It hurts. It can bring us to our knees in frustration, agony, and hopelessness. Sometimes it breaks our heart. Sometimes it breaks our spirit. There may have even been times when we’ve prayed for death.
When we find ourselves facing hard times maybe we could learn a thing or two from what Noah did (or may have done).
Noah:
- stayed busy (whether it was shoveling or fanning) I doubt he was ever idle.
- found joy in his family.
- looked for the good in the situation.
- may have stuck his head out of the window every now and then for a breath of fresh air.
- looked forward to the end.
- trusted in God to get him through.
When life stinks we should always trust God to see us through. Remember Noah's cruise didn't last forever.
Question:
Why do we tend to focus more on the bad things we go through in life instead of the good?
Our six-year-old daughter recently received a new Bible from her Sunday morning Bible class teacher. Inside the front cover was a short note explaining how important it was for her to read her Bible every night and if she couldn’t read it, then someone in her family would always read it to her.
This made an impact on our youngest so each night she finds a place and we start reading. The other night she opened her Bible to the story of Noah. After I finished reading we began to discuss how God saved Noah and his family from the flood. We talked about God’s salvation and how good He is to us and how one day, He will save us, too. She thought about that for a moment then made a face.
“What?” I asked.
“It's a good story but…” she answered in her sweet little voice.
“But what?” I inquired.
“But it sure was stinky in there!”
When Life Stinks
Job says life is short with many troubles (Job 14:1) but why is it we’re shocked when life doesn’t turn out the way we think it should? Maybe our parents were abusive. Maybe our spouse didn’t remain faithful. Maybe we lost a child, a spouse, a best friend or a great job? Maybe we just received a diagnosis that could turn into a death sentence? Maybe none of these have happened, yet.
There are many times and ways that life may stink and there is nothing we can do about it. Complaining won’t fix it. Walking away won’t fix it. Blaming God won’t fix it, either. Bad times come with the territory. Life is hard. It hurts. It can bring us to our knees in frustration, agony, and hopelessness. Sometimes it breaks our heart. Sometimes it breaks our spirit. There may have even been times when we’ve prayed for death.
When we find ourselves facing hard times maybe we could learn a thing or two from what Noah did (or may have done).
Noah:
- stayed busy (whether it was shoveling or fanning) I doubt he was ever idle.
- found joy in his family.
- looked for the good in the situation.
- may have stuck his head out of the window every now and then for a breath of fresh air.
- looked forward to the end.
- trusted in God to get him through.
When life stinks we should always trust God to see us through. Remember Noah's cruise didn't last forever.
Question:
Why do we tend to focus more on the bad things we go through in life instead of the good?
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