High View of Mum ;-)

This was posted by Ingrid over at Hope Blog:

I know a woman. She is constant and fervent in prayer. She visits the elderly and the widow. Even though she struggles with her own health issues, she is constantly giving of herself and lifting up the arms of others who serve the Lord. She loves the Lord, first and foremost. She hopes all things, believes all things, endures all things. Her faith shines into even the darkest circumstances, because she has seen what God has done so many times. She has gotten discouraged at times, but she has never ever turned on the Lord. Instead, she has moved onward in faith, singing as she goes, literally. “Faith is the victory, faith is the victory, faith is the victory, that overcomes the world!”

She has seen many battles in her lifetime. She has been hurt. She has seen loved ones suffering. She has cared for her mother and mother-in-law in their last days, at one point simultaneously in the same home. She speaks constantly of the return of the Lord. She doesn’t let her grandchildren or children leave her home without exhorting them to “look up, because our redemption draws nigh!”

Tonight, this blessed woman appeared at my door with an entire meal. Lasagna, green bean casserole, whole grain bread, a beautiful vegetable tray and cherry crumble for dessert. She knew I had been ill for two days. Last night, Tom brought home a bag of burgers because I had been in bed most of the day. I was worried that once again I couldn’t make a meal. Then this act of undeserved kindness.

I am talking about Freda Eliason, my beautiful mother. It’s been a lifetime of this. How can you pay someone back for the thousands of acts of selflessness and the countless prayers that have followed you since you were conceived? I know that no matter how much I could ever give my mother, it wouldn’t be enough. That’s why I am thankful that the Lord keeps the records. Some day, I think we may all be surprised when His rewards are handed out. We often associate big ministries, big names and big acts with great Christianity. But often, the greatest things done in Jesus name are the seemingly small things: a heartfelt prayer, a visit to an elderly person, a meal, and a constant faith that shines forth even when all seems dark–a faith that ministers to someone who desperately needs hope.

How grateful I am tonight. If you think you haven’t done much for the Lord, please realize that any act of love, done in the name of Jesus, is something great. An encouraging word at the right moment, the gift of understanding and listening to someone’s heartache is never a small thing. A visit to someone who has all but been forgotten by the church, a meal to someone who is hurting, all of these things can be done as unto the Lord Himself. While the rest of the world may never see it or care, we can be assured that the Lord never forgets, and on that last day will give full reward to these faithful saints.

Thank you, Mom, for your love. I know you don’t want any publicity, but I wanted to honor you today. You are priceless.

“Her children rise up and call her blessed.”

Proverbs 31:28

High View of God

“The church has surrendered her once lofty concept of God and has substituted for it one so low, so ignoble, as to be utterly unworthy of thinking, worshiping men. This she has done not deliberately, but little by little and without her knowledge; and her very unawareness only makes her situation all the more tragic. This low view of God entertained almost universally among Christians is the cause of a hundred lesser evils everywhere among us. A whole new philosophy of the Christian life has resulted from this one basic error in our religious thinking.

With our loss of the sense of majesty has come the further loss of religious awe and consciousness of the divine Presence. We have lost our spirit of worship and our ability to withdraw inwardly to meet God in adoring silence. Modern Christianity is simply not producing the kind of Christian who can appreciate or experience the life in the Spirit. The words, ‘Be still, and know that I am God,’ mean next to nothing to the self-confident, bustling worshiper in this middle period of the twentieth century.

This loss of the concept of majesty has come just when the forces of religion are making dramatic gains and the churches are more prosperous than at any time within the past several hundred years. But the alarming thing is that our gains are mostly external and our losses wholly internal; and since it is the quality of our religion that is affected by internal conditions, it may be that our supposed gains are but losses spread over a wider field.”
-A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy

Epicenter Update

Joel has a an update about the ever changing events in Israel that is worth the read today.  You can find him here http://flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com/