Click here to view the embedded video.

Brenda was almost halfway to the top of the tremendous granite cliff. She was standing on a ledge where she was taking a breather during this, her first rock climb. As she rested there, the safety rope snapped against her eye and knocked out her contact lens.

‘Great’, she thought. ‘Here I am on a rock ledge, hundreds of feet from the bottom and hundreds of feet to the top of this cliff, and now my sight is blurry.’ She looked and looked, hoping that somehow it had landed on the ledge. But it just wasn’t there. She felt the panic rising in her, so she began praying. She prayed for calm, and she prayed that she might find her contact lens. When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but it was not to be found. Although she was calm now that she was at the top, she was saddened because she could not clearly see across the range of mountains.

She thought of the bible verse ‘The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth.’

She thought, ‘Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me.’ Later, when they had hiked down the trail to the bottom of the cliff they met another party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted out, ‘Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?’

Well, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across a twig on the face of the rock, carrying it!

The story doesn’t end there. Brenda’s father is a cartoonist. When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a cartoon of an ant lugging that contact lens:

What’s the Holy Spirit saying to you?

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A Very Convenient Truth, written by my friend Drew Snider, is now “live” on Amazon Kindle (and anyone who doesn’t have Kindle can download apps for Windows PC or Mac).  I met Drew on twitter, and we developed a friendship there.  I admire him for his love for Jesus and his servant heart.  I was fortunate enough to be on the books pre-release list, so I’ve already read it.

You can purchase it here.

A Very Convenient Truth is a take on global warming/climate change that gets away from the bad news we hear on practically a weekly basis, without going into denial about the existence of a problem. It breaks us out of what he calls Doomspeak, and the personal attacks and confusion that have become hallmarks of the whole discussion.

A Very Convenient Truth takes the position that the Word of God is nothing but good news: you just have to look for it. It neither denies the issue nor takes the position of a true believer, but as you consider God’s promise about “the land” (2 Chronicles 7:13-14), you realize that God has already given us the answers. Anyone can pursue them, they don’t cost a cent and they don’t involve serving the creature rather than the Creator (Romans 1:25).

A VeryConvenient Truth reminds us that things that are attributed to “global warming” have actually been foretold for thousands of years and that trying to fight against these signs puts us in opposition to God’s will – very dangerous territory, indeed.

For Christians, the book contains a challenge;

God’s promises are always yes and amen: do you believe that when it comes to the environment, too?

For environmentalists, the challenge is, are you broad-minded enough to consider a different approach?

At $3.99, I think you will find it an interesting and thought provoking read.  Order it here.

Romans (10:3–4, 8–9)

“For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God. … In fact, it says,

‘The message is very close at hand;
it is on your lips and in your heart.’

And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Something significant happened on the Cross of Jesus.  A new way of living was introduced.  It’s like a divine fork in the road was laid down by a heavenly road team.  One way leads to human effort living.  The other to God effort living.

Which way has your energy and focus?

Are you still clinging to your own way of getting right (and staying right) with God?

Listen to Paul talking to a group of believers about reaching their destiny in his letter to the  Colossians (1:9-13).

So we have continued praying for you ever since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you a complete understanding of what he wants to do in your lives, and we ask him to make you wise with spiritual wisdom.  Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and you will continually do good, kind things for others.

All the while, you will learn to know God better and better.  We also pray that you will be strengthened with his glorious power so that you will have all the patience and endurance you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father, who has enabled you to share the inheritance that belongs to God’s holy people, who live in the light.

In other words……… may you be filled with joy that you don’t have to drum up yourself!!!

Do you see how God is the one causing us to reach our “new creation” destiny?   It’s a divine partnership to be sure.  We have to choose the God living fork in the road.  But once we do, we will be permanently changed because we’re with Him – not because we tried to be different.

Christianity isn’t spelled “do” it’s spelled “done”.

~ Bill Hybels, Willow Creek

What’s the Holy Spirit saying to you?

Maximum Faith is a book by researcher George Barna that addresses whether or not people’s lives are transformed by their faith and relationship with God, and how that transformation takes place.  The research done for the book revealed that not many individuals in the United States stay with the maturation process long enough to become the mature Christ-followers.

The book identifies several barriers that need to be overcome before most people are likely to persevere and maximize their connection with God.

Obstacle 1: Commitment

~ (81%) say they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ

~ (18%) claims to be totally committed to investing in their own spiritual development

~ (22%) claims to be “completely dependent upon God.”

~ (52%) believe that there is much more to the Christian life than what they have experienced

Obstacle 2: Repentance

~ (64%) state that they have confessed their sins to God and asked for His forgiveness.

~ (3%) of all self-identified Christians in America say they have surrendered control of their life to God, submitted to His will for their life, and devote themselves to loving and serving God and other people.

Obstacle 3: Activity

~ (39%) have participated in a combination of three “normal” religious activities in the past week such as attending church services, praying, and reading the Bible

~ less than one out of ten have talked about their faith with a non-Christian, fasted for religious purposes, and had an extended time of spiritual reflection during the past week. Various spiritual disciplines – including solitude, sacrifice, acts of service, silence, and scriptural meditation – are also infrequently practiced.

Obstacle 4: Spiritual Community

~ (21%) believes that spiritual maturity requires a vital connection to a community of faith

~ (35%) claims to have confessed their sins verbally to another believer at some point during the past quarter

According to George Barna, whose six years of research resulted in the insights described in Maximum Faith, the following are the concerns that could be addressed toward helping Christians experience a more fulfilling and robust relationship with and faith in Christ.

~ believers often fail to realize that the end game of spiritual development is godly character, not worldly accomplishments.

~ believers get so wrapped up in finishing church programs or producing specific religious results that they lose sight of the purpose of their faith, which is to have a life-changing relationship with Jesus.

~ believers need to learn to embrace the necessity of sacrifice and suffering in order to surrender and submit themselves fully to God.

~ believers need to understand importance of perceiving and experiencing a faith community as a vital support system in the pursuit of a deeper relationship with God.

What’s your reaction to these findings?

About Barna Group
Barna Group is a private, non-partisan, for-profit organization that conducts primary research, produces media resources pertaining to spiritual development, and facilitates the healthy spiritual growth of leaders, children, families and Christian ministries.

Located in Ventura, California, Barna Group has been conducting and analyzing primary research to understand cultural trends related to values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors since 1984. If you would like to receive free e-mail notification of the release of each update on the latest research findings from Barna Group, you may subscribe to this free service at the Barna website www.barna.org.

On 9/11/01, Romans 12:21 was activated in the USA.

Do not be overcome by evil,

but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:21

Remembering the bravery, the goodness, the unity.

Remembering that evil can’t win.  God will see to it.

***If you’ll ask Him, He’ll point you to some really good books. He has favorites.

Recently I was going on vacation and just wanted to read a good story.  Here’s the book He helped me pick out.

I loved it.  It was perfect for me.  A lot of history and a love story mixed in.

It’s nice of God to be involved in the simple details of our lives don’t you think?

What simple everyday places does God show up in your life?

Click on the image below to read.

Find more of Tom’s wisdom here.