Today Someone...His Healing Touch.

Dear Lord,

Today someone wants to share

HIS HEALING TOUCH.

As there is a history of Glaucoma eye disease in my family, and being over 40, and the optic nerves showing slight damage, the ophthalmologist sent me for a routine brain scan at our local Clinic. He wanted to make sure he was treating me correctly and that there was no other underlying cause of the problem.

It’s not a very pleasant procedure, as those of you who have been through it will know, but I was not worried.

I lay perfectly still in this claustrophobic machine for what seemed to be an eternity, listening to the banging and knocking noises of the scanner as it did its’ ‘thing’.

I thought it was over when the Radiologist came in, but he began asking me all sorts of questions:

“Why are you having this Scan?”

“Where else do you have lesions?”…

“I’m going to inject you with a dye and redo the scan for a clearer view…”

I was totally bewildered, but before I could say a word he had disappeared, I had been injected with dye, and was back in the noisy machine for another 45 minutes. This time I was worried!

“All done,” came the cheery voice of the assistant, “you can go home now and we will forward the results to your ophthalmologist.”

I spent an agonizing two days waiting for Dr. P. to contact me, suspicious that something abnormal had shown up on the scan. It had, three dark lesions behind the eyes and nose. They were of a nature that the radiologists, ophthalmologist, and the subsequent Brain Surgeon had never seen before.

I felt numb and my husband, Doug, was devastated. Our friends and family rallied around him with an outpouring of support…but they ignored me…not knowing what to say in such a situation.

I withdrew, feeling scared and alone, deserted by those I loved. Those were the longest, loneliest two weeks of my life. It impacted on me personally as I became increasingly insecure and a lack of trust in those I loved grew. That feeling of utter loneliness was what drew me close to my Lord again some months later.

Luckily my story has a happy ending…after another barrage of scans on the latest machines, supervised by the Neurosurgeon…they discovered that the three sinuses that lie deep within the skull had not filled with air as I developed, but with mucous, and would not cause any problems whatsoever to my health.

You may wonder why I’m sharing this with you.

Very often we make the mistake of not ‘being there’ for those in need, through fear or because it’s too painful to ourselves.

We can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. - 2 Corinthians 1:4.

The loving thing we can do when someone is in pain is to share their pain…to ‘be there,’ even when we've nothing to offer except our presence.

We are born with a natural empathy for those who are hurting. We all have the compassion to be moved by the troubles of others.

Look carefully at all those involved in a difficult situation, sometimes those who are ‘being strong’ for others are suffering the most, in silence, not wanting to let the side down.

Ask God to make you more sensitive to the needs and hurts of those around you.

Don’t be afraid to ask, “How does this make you feel?”

It might just be the opening someone needs…it was for me…many months later…then only did I receive ‘true healing’…the healing only God can bring, complete physical, mental and spiritual healing…just because someone cared…just because someone prayed!

All praise be to the Lord Almighty for His healing touch!

Amen.

Let us Pray;

Dear Lord,

Today someone wants to be aware

of the burdens in the lives of others.

Everyone has to shoulder a problem

at some stage in their life.

I want to be there to lighten

the load of those around me.

The Lord has blessed me

by carrying my heaviest burdens.

Likewise I can support others

as they face their daily trials.

In this way I will obediently

observe the law of Christ.

For if I think myself to be somebody,

when I am nobody, I deceive myself.

I must examine my own conduct and work

To find satisfaction in doing something commendable.

Lord make me a blessing

to the broken and discouraged.

Please guide me so that I might find my place

and my way of serving to Your glory.

For whatever I sow, that is what I will reap.

Amen.

(Galations 6:2)

Today Someone...Hope

The Life of HOPE

(28/08/2006 - 15/10/2006)

Sorrow looks back,

Worry looks around,

Faith looks up!

And HOPE abounds…

Please could we pray for this little, baby girl. She is going to do great things for the Kingdom of God, and the Lord has called her to be a change maker - an apostle. That said, the devil is desperately trying to attack this child, and prevent her from fulfilling God's plan and purpose. We need to intercede, and pray with purpose.

PRAYER:

We speak healing in Hope's body - in the name of Jesus.

We confess Your favour and success in her life Lord,

and we pray that even as a baby

Your miracle working power would be evident in her life.

We speak blessing into her life,

and into that of her family,

and that she would fully attain all that You have

planned and purposed for her life.

She will be considered a friend

of the Most High God,

and she will lead Your people out of bondage

and secure their feet upon the Rock.

(Justin Lippiatt.)

Ephesians 6:10-11 –

Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armour of God

so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”

Lord Jesus Christ,

We humbly ask You to secure the Spirit

You so abundantly bestowed on your apostles, in Hope;

So that she may grow with a zeal for Your glory

and the salvation of souls.

Inflame little Hope, whom You have chosen,

so she may become a saint in Your likeness,

And may Your Spirit strengthen and heal her.

Amen.

Colossians 1:3 –

“We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,”

DIARY OF HOPE'S SHORT LIFE.

Our baby HOPE is going to have to have heart surgery…either tonight or early in the morning…being prepped now for surgery and to move her the La Bonor Hospital…near where she already is…Please do pray...Will let you know as we know. She has a hole in her heart and it is enlarging. Everything else seemed ok...while she is strong enough they want to do the surgery...that is the message we just received.

Thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement and prophecy concerning little HOPE…I just got the call from Tennessee that HOPE is out of surgery and the doctors say all went perfect...Your concern and prayers are greatly appreciated by all of our family...Thank you for having all prayed for HOPE. God heard our prayers one more time and intervened. I will keep you updated…Please continue to pray for her strength and speedy recovery...God Bless…I am sending you pictures of HOPE for you to see how small she is at one pound and 3 ounces.

Thank you so much for sharing this…Testimony of Dana Blessing; “Do you smell that?”
It means a lot and will hold it in our hearts as we watch and believe the Lord for Little HOPE to have such a testimony as well.

19/09/2006
We just got word this evening that Little Hope is not doing well...She is not gaining weight as she needs to due to a perforated bowel…can't operate as she is too weak…can't give her the nutrients she needs because it will cause infection in the bowel…She again has not voided but one ounce this evening and needs another touch from God. Please help us pray and believe the Lord for her…She is a little fighter and we are praying again for another miracle. Her blood pressure is not stable and she is very weak.

22/09/2006
Little HOPE", our premee that was born 8/28/06 and weighed one pound and one ounce, is still holding her own…she needs surgery to correct the perforated bowel...but, cannot have the surgery until she is more stabilized again…She is back on the ventilator...Cannot breath long periods of time on her own without hyperventilating which is not good for premies...can cause brain damage and tire her heart out. She is weak and needs strength to overcome...recovering from the heart surgery...That has taken a lot of her but, she is still fighting and holding on…Please do continue to pray that she will gain strength and weight and be able to survive the more evasive surgery for the bowel repair. This is important to her survival. Waiting on the pediatric surgeons to give the ok to go ahead but, right now she is not able to endure the surgery because she is too weak. Please do continue to pray. Thanks for caring and mostly for praying. Every prayer is greatly appreciated...We are believing for a miracle for Hope.

27/09/2006
Thank you for your prayerful concern and helping us touch God and for uniting our faith…God bless you...Little Hope is still holding on and stabilized…We are believing God for a miracle...X-rays are being done tomorrow, I think, to see if her bowel has begun to heal itself...If that is the case then she will not have to undergo that invasive surgery to correct the perforated bowel...Her bowels have begun to move the past 3 days…This is a good thing...There was a tube in her bowel to extract the stool...If the x-rays show that there is no stool going anywhere it should not, then she may not have to have this surgery unless the healing causes scar tissue that could cause a blockage and have to have surgery at some later time…I believe if God heals this bowel then He can make sure it functions properly with no further complications…Your continued prayers for HOPE are deeply appreciated.

15/10/2006
Little Hope has taken a turn for the worse...is not expected to live...has between 20 minutes and 2 hours...Doctors have done all they can do...Need a miracle for this 6 week old baby...premie of one pound…Please do pray and help us touch God.

15/10/2006 4pm
My family and I want to thank each and everyone of you have prayed for my great grandbaby and us...The baby, HOPE, died about 2 hours ago...Please do continue to hold our family up in prayer during our time of grief...Your concern and prayers are deeply appreciated.

God Bless you one and all.
Rev. Gerri Janeway

A Prayer for Hope:

God looked around His garden and found an empty place.

He then looked down upon the earth and saw your tiny face.

He put His arms around you and lifted you to rest.

God's garden must be beautiful. He only takes the best.

It broke our hearts to lose you but you didn't go alone.

Part of us went with you the day God took you home.

If tears could build a stairway and heartaches make a lane,

We'd walk a path to heaven to be with you again.

Amen.

We all feel your loss. Hope had become part of many lives and led others to seek God in their daily needs.
People opened up to me with their requests for prayer because of Hope. Her life was special and not lived in vain.
She will be missed by us all.

May the Lord hold your family close to Him in a special bond of love during this sad time.
Love,
Doreen.

Dear Lord,

Today someone feels a sadness in her heart.

She knows it was Your will to call Baby Hope home.

Tiny Hope, clung to life for just six weeks…

God drew near, held her tiny body against Him

When she was too frail for her family to hold.

People prayed, but her chances were slim.

God breathed love and blessings into her life,

Bringing about miracles, she didn't live in vain;

Unsaved souls turned to Jesus,

As they prayed for Hope in her pain.

Hardened hearts softened to the call,

As they went on bended knee;

Finding an opening to express a longing

For the Lord, through Hope’s need.

Who are we to question why

A short life to some is given;

By being born too early,

Hope led others to heaven.

We thank You Lord,

For giving us Hope,

In our hearts, in our lives,

And in our walk with You.

Amen.

Today Someone...Justin's vision.

Dear Lord,

Today someone wants to share Justin's vision;

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2006

A vision...

I was inside a drop of pond water. I could see Daphnia, Hydra, and other little organisms scurrying around busily - legs paddling, antennae flicking about. My view zooms out through the lenses of a microscope, to me sitting looking through the microscope, Zoom out again, to the building I'm sitting in, then the world (view of planet earth), then the solar system revolving around our sun, then our solar system within our galaxy, then the galaxy within the universe filled with galaxies, then God looking at a drop of water - our universe.

The Lord's voice:

"Just as you would look and see the smallest of creatures in a drop of water, so I see you. The difference is that I KNOW YOU! I have always known you. I know how you are, and where you are. I know what you feel - your joy, your suffering, your pleasure, and your pain. Do you not realise I AM? I AM bigger than your imagination, bigger than your problems, and far bigger than your solutions. The words - eternity and eternal - are too small.

I have set a place aside for you which surpasses every snippet of Heaven I have ever shown or revealed to you!

I AM!

What is the Kingdom of Heaven? Can you perceive the Kingdom of Heaven... My Heaven? My Son talks to you about My Kingdom, and He is revealing mysteries that you have not yet had revelation about. Meditate upon that...

Do not view me only as your Father, nor as your friend...I AM! Those who fear me in reverence, will see MY Glory. Those that search for Me in MY Word and in the spirit will find ME, and MY Grace.

Yes, I AM!

Can you not see that I AM within you? Do you not conceive my love for you - that I have chosen YOU!

Chosen YOU!

You! My friend and my child...

Whatever you feel, or experience, ask, open your lives to receive Me - fully - to receive My will for you ON EARTH, AS IT IS IN HEAVEN!

My will for you is bigger than your comprehension.

Consider, and embrace I AM!"

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2006

A Verse…

(Haggai 2)

18 ... from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month,...

19 I will bless you.'

20 The word of the LORD came... 21 that I will shake the heavens and the earth. 22 I will overturn ... I will overthrow...

23 " 'On that day, I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,' declares the LORD Almighty."

Amen.

Today Someone...Love.

Dear Lord,

Today someone wants to share a view about

LOVE:

I grew up in an undemonstrative family, that didn’t mean we didn’t love one another, we just didn’t show it, or say it…those three important little words…

I LOVE YOU.

We live in a sinful world where it has become unacceptable to say these precious words to certain people without the meaning being misconstrued. Woman to woman, man to man, and sometimes even man to woman, as they are then thought to harbour sexual desires for each other if they say, I love you. This societal scourge has made it uncomfortable for people to use these words to express their feelings outside of the family. It is a shame, as God’s greatest gift to us is love; He commands us to love one another, just as He loves us.

The following extract from Darrin Salle’s poem, Love, describes ‘love’ perfectly;

LOVE:

Love, to me, is not something in a book,

Something old, or stale, or weak,

Nor something exclusively feminine or soft,

And not feeble, timid or fearful.

It is not to do with the loins,

It is not to do with the head,

It is not to do with forced actions,

And it is nowhere in a lusty eye…

It resides in an indefinable spot in our chest,

Sometimes in our belly.

It is not tangible enough to be grasped with the hand,

But is more solid than the gold too many of us trust in…

To love, is to become a conduit for the eternal,

To handle the only heavenly commodity found on earth,

To feel the steady pulse of the universe,

To touch, and be touched, by the hand of God…

In all creation, nothing is more weather resistant,

More useful, more appropriate,

More adaptable, more enduring,

More ingenious, or more precious…

It is simple to handle,

Increases the more you give it away,

Always arrives with hope, joy,

And encouragement as companions…

It is fair and just,

Balanced and perfect.

It upholds and carries good,

And utterly opposes evil.

When people ask, Who is God?

I don’t think of a far off spirit being.

I think of His hand touching me inside,

And I understand why God is called Love.

The Lord has called me to ‘plant’ the needs of others, like seeds in a barren field; He wants me to tend to them and water them. 1 Corinthians 3:5-9, says it is not important who does the planting or watering, as long as one does the work the Lord gave him to do. God is the only important element, as it’s through His love and grace alone that He can make the seed grow and the plant bear fruit. How unsatisfactory an offering it would be to our Lord, if I felt no love towards others, whose needs He has entrusted to me. How wonderful it would be if I could sincerely say to my brothers and sisters; “I love you, and I will uphold your need in prayer.”

LET US PRAY;

Dear Lord,

If I have not love, my speech is no more

than a resounding gong.

I may have faith to move mountains,

but if I have not love, I am nothing.

If I give all I possess to the poor

and surrender my body to the flames,

but have not love,

I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast,

It is not proud, It is not rude,

It is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered.

Love keeps no record of wrongs.

It does not delight in evil

but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts,.

Love always hopes,

always perseveres.

Love is eternal.

Lord, bless me with a love like this.

Amen.

(1 Corinthians 13: 1-13)

Today Someone...My testimony.

Dear Lord,

Today You want someone,

And that someone's me,

To share with others

My testimony.

Doreen Teresa Hardie.

I was born to a Catholic father and an Anglican mother, the middle of three children. My Mum raised her children as Catholics, although she did not attend church herself. I had a very disciplined church life. This along with a Convent school education, and Catholic retreats, enticed me to consider a vocation as a nun as I had developed a very close relationship with our Lord…BUT God had other ideas, He gave me Doug…and we started dating in 1975.

My parents divorce and Doug being a Presbyterian, led the two of us to worship in Pentecostal churches, where I developed an even closer walk with Jesus. The Lord kept us pure in our relationship until we married in 1982 and He has blessed us with three wonderful children; Claire, Grant and Ross.

Due to the many moves we had, through secondments and transfers by the bank Doug worked for, we changed churches many times. This along with being a busy, sometimes working mother lessened my commitment to the Lord. I became very erratic in my church attendance and my prayer life dwindled.

In 2005, life’s uncertainties, loss and illness left me feeling low and empty. Doug persuaded me to talk to a Christian counselor, who worked with him, about my feelings. The wonderful love of Christ within him shone through and enlightened me, so when he asked me why I thought I felt this way, I knew it was because I had let God slip out of my life…Thus this feeling of complete and utter loneliness.

Now I’ll never be lonely again…my friend, Jesus, is walking by my side. I am instructed to take up the cross daily and follow Him. When I think about all that Jesus went through on my behalf, I am empowered to be more faithful on my own journey of life. I can accept the injustices that I experience because He accepted unjust condemnation. I can pick up my cross and carry on despite my many falls on the way. The perseverance of Jesus, on His journey to Calvary, gives me the strength to keep going.

He has given me people along the way to help me…I thank Him for family and friends who are a special part of my life…who lift me up in prayer, support me in times of difficulty, and share in the blessings God has given me.

I have gone full circle…as I’m now happily worshipping in the Catholic Church again…

The Lord uses me to intercede for others in prayer and His blessings are many.

To God be all the glory, thanksgiving, love and praise, for He pours out His Grace and favour on me…just because He loves me.

Amen.