Stories and other stuff

I'm seeing God do some pretty amazing stuff in my life.  I mean that.  Stuff I would have never thought possible, in fact.  But that's God!  He can, and does frequently surprise me. This happened to me yesterday:  I was sitting at a stoplight and I hear that still, small voice ask me, "What do you see?"  I wasn't really looking for anything at that particular moment, but I started looking around and noticed this on a license plate:  HELOVESU Nothing will make your day like God telling you He loves you.  That really made my day! I'm seeing prayers answered in others' lives, too.  My friend had an answer to his prayer about some opportunities God put in front of him and I think that's cool, even if it's only temporary.  I'm seeing Him answer mine in ways that maybe I didn't intend, but nonetheless, answered in the way He intended to. This prayer challenge thing I'm taking has really changed me.  And I just can't even find the ...

I was blessed to give the sermon today at Ogden First Baptist Church.  It will be beneficial to read Matthew 26:36-46 before you read the message.  At our church, the Scripture reading immediately proceeds the sermon.  I hope it's a blessing to you.   I’m so excited to share with you this message today.  As is the case, it’s not MY message.  In fact, last Sunday at 10:15, right before I got in the shower, I had another message in mind.  I had the supporting Bible verses picked out and everything.   But I got a different direction from the Holy Spirit, and  by 12:15 last Sunday I understood why:  Steve talked about a lot of what I was planning to say. A few minutes ago, we prayed together, what is commonly known as the “Lord’s Prayer”. We just heard from the Gospel of Matthew, another of the prayers our Lord Jesus prayed, not once but three times: Father, if it be possible,let this cup pass from me; nevertheles...

So, there I was is a common phrase among aviation types; it's often followed by the words "at 30,000 feet".  It's a story starter for something that usually involves the sudden onset of calamity and usually has a satisfactory ending. So, there I was, laying on the bed, talking with God and discussing something about His changing plans.  God does that sometimes, I think, but for reasons I never understand.  I'd earlier made a comment while mopping the floor abut just once having an answer to a prayer that I expected. But the thought that the Holy Spirit shared with me is this:  What fun would that be? I'm two weeks into this prayer challenge and all I can say is WOW!  Before the start of it, I'd asked God what He was up to in my life.  That's kind of a prayer, by the way, and all He would tell me was that He wasn't gonna tell me because I wouldn't believe it. He was right. I'm having coffee with a friend tomorrow.  That's proba...