Happy Sunday

You Can See God

 

I sat at my desk staring at the letter for a long time. It was written by a friend of mine who was going through some difficult times. It listed problem after problem and seemed full of despair. It ended with these words: "I would like to have faith, but I have always had a problem in believing in what I can't see. You can't see God, you know!"

 

After awhile I still hadn't thought of how to answer my friend's letter and help him. Hoping a walk would help, I put a leash on one of my dogs and headed out the back door. The warm, golden sunshine of Spring warmed my face as soon as I stepped off the porch. A fresh breeze carried the scent of a thousand budding trees on it. A butterfly danced above a patch of dandelions floating from flower to flower. Robins were flying back and forth to the Maple tree in my backyard carrying fresh grass and twigs to reline their nests. Across the road my new neighbor's children were playing in her backyard with a big ball. It was such a delight seeing her toddler chasing after it with such joy. I felt a nuzzle against my leg and looked down to see my dog cuddling in for a hug. I smiled and scratched his head while the laughter of the children and the sound of crickets in the woods blended together to create a unique and beautiful music. I started to walk back inside and saw my own son grinning at me from the window. Most of the world could only see his mental handicaps, but when I looked at him then his eyes sparkled with a divine light. I waved to him and laughed when his older sister snuck up behind him and wrapped him in a loving hug.

 

When I got back inside, I knew what to write. I went to my friend's letter and wrote of everything I had just seen, smelled, heard, and felt in those brief moments outside. Then I finished by writing this:

 

"I think we all can see God! We just need to know where to look!"

Open The Eyes Of My Heart
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You
I want to see You

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You
I want to see You

To see You high and lifted up
Shinin' in the light of Your glory
Pour out Your power and love
As we sing holy, holy, holy

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You
I want to see You

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You
I want to see You

To see You high and lifted up
Shinin' in the light of Your glory
Pour out Your power and love
As we sing holy, holy, holy
(Repeat two more times)

Holy, holy, holy
We cry holy, holy, holy
You are holy, holy, holy
I want to see you

Holy, holy, holy
Holy, holy, holy
You are holy, holy, holy
I want to see you

Holy, holy, holy
Holy, holy, holy
Holy, holy, holy,
I want to see you
(Repeat five more times)

Daily Smile:
A middle-aged woman had a heart attack and was taken to the hospital. While on the operating table, she had a near death experience. Seeing God, she asked, "Is my time up?" 

God said, "No, you have another 43 years, two months and eight days to live." 

Upon recovery, the woman decided to stay in the hospital and have a face-lift, liposuction and tummy tuck. Since she had so much more time to live, she figured she might as well look even nicer. After her last operation, she was released from the hospital. While crossing the street on her way home, an ambulance killed her. Arriving in front of God, she demanded, "I thought you said I had another 40 years? Why didn't you pull me out of the path of that ambulance?" 

God replied, "Girl, I didn't recognize you”

In The News:

Kazakhstan: Another Strike to Religious Freedom as Court Orders Destruction of Bibles
Religious freedom is losing even more ground in Kazakhstan: For the first time since the country gained independence in 1991, a court ordered religious literature to be destroyed, Mission Network News reports. According to Forum 18 News, 121 pieces of religious literature, mostly in the Kazakh language, were taken from a Christian in the northern part of the country. Vyacheslav Cherkasov was reportedly handing out the literature on the streets when police arrested him. He was fined a month's wages, and a suitcase full of Bibles, children's Bibles, books and Christian tracts were confiscated. This month, a judge ordered the literature to be destroyed. "Most likely the books would be burnt," an official told Forum 18. Authorities accused Cherkasov of violating Kazakhstan's Religion Law, which was rewritten in 2011 to include more things as "religious offenses." Cherkasov is currently appealing his case. "We know that religious literature has frequently been confiscated since the new Religion Law came into force in 2011," said human rights defender Yevgeni Zhovtis. "But I've never heard that religious literature is being destroyed, unless it is extremist. This is terrible, terrible!"

Group Urges Prayer for Gay Marriage Cases
A prominent Christian legal group is urging Christians nationwide to pray as the U.S. Supreme Court gets ready to decide the legal definition of marriage, Baptist Press reports. The court will take up two separate cases March 26-27 -- a portion of the federal Defense of Marriage Act and California's Proposition 8 -- and will either affirm the traditional definition of marriage or redefine it to include same-sex couples. Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which has been heavily involved in defending the traditional definition of marriage, is in the midst of a "nine weeks of prayer for marriage" initiative that includes weekly downloadable printouts naming attorneys and Supreme Court justices for whom to pray. "They need your prayers like never before," said ADF's president and CEO, Alan Sears. "God's design and purpose for marriage does not change, no matter what today's politicians, activists or courts choose to accept." For more information about the prayer initiative, click here.