About Faith

I was thinking about Hebrews 11.

It is a chapter in the Bible where
the heroes of the Faith are listed
and the key to their being noted is
pointed out.

By Faith

1Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2This is what the ancients were commended for.
3By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. 4By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.

5By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

8By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

11By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he[a]considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

13All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

17By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring[b] will be reckoned."[c] 19Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.

20By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.

21By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

22By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.

23By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.

24By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. 25He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.

29By faith the people passed through the Red Sea[d] as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.

30By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.

31By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.[e]

32And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37They were stoned[f]; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.

39These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
These faithful people did not see all of the fruits of that faith here on Planet Earth, but we have benefitted from that faith. We have an example of Faith and what it can accomplish...knocking down city walls? Yikes!

The fruits of this faith are most certainly being enjoyed this day in Heaven as they have received eternal life and a city not made by hands!

There are such lessons to be learned by reading the accounts of these peoples' lives. They were certainly imperfect people...but to me the one thing they had in common and would not give up on was the belief that God was worthy of all of their trust and they acted on that trust in a very real way.

There have been times in my life where I have had to just trust. There was no other option. My parents modeled this for me as a teenager as they stepped out on a journey of faith in a church plant in a new town. We were dependent on the giving of church people who had pledged to support us. The home we lived in was rented to us but up for sale at the same time.

I remember a day when the cupboards were bare and just then a check came in the mail.
Faith Builder!

I remember the day that there was a cash offer on the home we wanted to buy. Our financing was iffy at best and there was absolutely no certainty that we were going to be able to afford the house. The owner of the home refused that cash offer saying that we were to be the next owners of the home. Faith Builder!

I remember more recently a little church, one that was down to less than twenty people. It surely would die. We surely would be better serving the Lord in different ways...then the Lord miraculously provided a place...and now He is sending His people.
Faith Builder!

I remember the day our first was born with so little hope of living. There was a hope deeply planted in my heart that he would survive. I don't understand that hope,
all looked bleak, but it was God....had to be! Faith Builder!

I remember the day the house we had a contract on got away from us and we were devastated. I remember how God provided a much better home that very same day...in a very unexpected way. Faith Builder!

My point?

If you have not had faith building experiences of your own to cling to when things seem impossible...look to the Biblical examples. They are there for your encouragement. It is always good to reflect on those things in your life that have been faith builders. What are those things that distinctly have God's Handprints all over them?

The evidence of His loving watchcare is all over...just look for it.

It is so reassuring in a time of World Distress.

Our Faith cannot be placed in our Government, Ourselves, or our Church. It must be placed in the ONE who is worthy of this Faith.

To look beyond the obvious....to expect a different outcome... based on the promises of God.

Ahhh to sink into the comforting knowledge that this is not all there is...but that HE is here with us, loving us, caring and providing for us, leading and guiding our paths. Intimately involved in our lives. Aaahhh...that is so sweet.

Is it pie in the sky? Denial? A crutch?

Not for me!

It is fact!

These are things God has done. These are his revelations of Himself in my life.

I hope you'll look for HIM in your life today.
Blessings on your Sunday.

Becky K.

Thinking about Surgery

It is getting closer.
My fifth surgery in 2 years.
In some ways I feel I am tempting fate.

How many times can one put themselves on
the operating table and come out ok?

Then the pain sets in and I think it will be worth it.

The date is not yet set but I know it is going to have to
happen.

I guess this, like absolutely everything else in life, has to be left in the hands of God. Not easy for a control freak.
I must rest in the fact that HE knows me. HE has a plan.
It certainly is not what I would have chosen, however, HE knows what is best.

I am glad that it is not about fate.
It is about an all knowing God, Who has had a plan
for my life since before the foundation of the world.

Awesome thought, isn't it.
HE knew ME!
Before I was...
Weird, But cool!

Why am I still scared?
I am human.
Oh, so human!

A Blank Slate

Let me see if I can take you on a tour of the anticipated new church building. We are expecting to sign the lease this week and move in Saturday. The renovations won't start until next week as we will have a service here on Sunday.

First the outside:




Chelsea in the small garden area...She, Mikey and my Mother are very excited about landscaping this and making it beautiful!



This is the entrance area. It is hard to see since there is so much light coming in the door.


I wanted to show you the floor. This was a former flooring store so there are sample floors everywhere. We will be having carpet put down next week. This is in the large room that will serve as our sanctuary.



I guess I didn't take a picture of that whole room. I'll try to get that done so I have a before and after...

Just off that room you go up a ramp and into this area:


This is where the office and nurseries will be located. There are three smallish rooms that will be used for these purposes as well as the counter that you see here.
While we welcome young ones in our service it will be nice to have a space for the necessities and for the sleeping ones. We will also be getting our stash of toys out of storage for play times. Every church, family integrated or otherwise, benefits from a dedicated "safe" play place.


Inside one of the small rooms...


Here I picture our Library. It is a neat nook before you turn and go down another ramp...

into this very long room.
This room will serve very nicely as our Fellowship Hall.
A couple of us who love to bowl immediately thought bowling alley - Ha!

This is a shot into a large room that is off the Fellowship Hall.
We will have so much space compared to what we are used to. It will seem so amazing.

Can you just imagine what fun I have had with paint chips and carpet samples? Really! Soon the changes can begin! I might get a bit scarce during that stage of the game...or I might be here posting lots of pictures.

I am praising God for His apparent provision to keep a small family of Believers together and to bring in those He would have share in the Worship and Ministry.


Have a blessed day!

April 1st...A Day to Celebrate our Grief

Weird Title?

I know!!

Last year this time we were gathered around my dear Father-in-law's bed in a skilled care facility. He was taking breaths that we knew had to be stopping soon.

Two years before this sweet man had been diagnosed with a spinal chord tumor. He had been through two operations and radiation...then he fell and really scrambled his brain.

Because the family home was in York and an hour away from us, and because we had a wonderful Skilled Care Facility close to our home we prayed and worked to get Gene admitted here.

Here is a new twist on a verse for you: "Faith without works is dead". I so believed that this was the Lord's will that I acted on it before it was even believed that it could possibly happen. I could have all of the faith in the world that Gene would be accepted in that facility but unless I went in there and filled out paperwork, then pleaded, befriended and cajoled them to reverse a decision that would have not allowed him to be accepted there nothing would have happened. I believed that this was where he was to be but it took work on my part to see it to fruition. I did work!
Mini rabbit trail there...

Anyway, Georgia moved in with my mother and we were in for a long, hard haul.

Gene was the sweetest person with a brain injury I have ever seen. There was no anger. There was only sweet patience. I love the time that I got to spend with him in his final days.

I may be the only person in our family to feel this way. It was so hard for everyone else. My Mom had so recently lost my Dad that this tore her up, Georgia was dealing with her own pain, Warren suffered seeing his Dad like this, the kids just couldn't understand how they could relate to this man, Grandpa.

But I just adored him. Even more than before, if that is possible. This had to be a gift from the Lord! HE truly does give more grace as the burdens increase!

We laugh, because since we have been married I have expressed to Warren that when we were dating I took a long look at his Dad and decided that if Warren turned out to be half the man his Dad was I would be very blessed indeed. Gene was extraordinary in his kindness, generosity, patience and he was solid as a rock!

So, as we stood around his bed...after a night of taking shifts...one sleeping in a room at the end of the hall while two visited quietly in the room there was a sense of finality. We read from the book of Revelation as it so wonderfully describes the beauty of Heaven...we sang...Gene took his final breath and as quietly as he has done everything else in his life...went home to see Jesus, His Savior and Friend.

The sadness got a bit back burnered as we were so relieved for him. His suffering was done! Forever! Praise the Lord, Gene and my Daddy and others that have gone on before will never feel the pain of suffering or the sting of grief again...EVER!

That brings us to today. Ohhh...the sting of grief is so real. You most likely know what I am writing about. The conflict of happiness for their peace but the heart wrenching pain of missing the people that they were. Missing the ability to ask an opinion or to see them smile. The ability to get frustrated with them over the tiniest little things. Just to be in their presence one more time...

Today, Warren is taking the afternoon off and will be spending it with his Mom.
I am so glad. Please keep them in prayer. Warren is an only child and this year has been so hard on him.

Thanks for bearing with this very personal post.

Thanks for being there!

Dreams

Alicia at Renewed in Him has posed an interesting question and it has brought back a flood of memories for me. She was wondering what role dreams play in our lives. Do they have a specific meaning? Does God use dreams to tell us things as He did in Bible times?

It made me think of this experience that began just toward the end of our first year of marriage.

As is so often the case for young couples, I began longing for a child. I could see myself snuggling and cuddling a little one. Of course, it was all romanticized. There were no dirty diapers, this imaginary baby didn't get ear infections....you know. I was ready to begin our family. Warren was not. He was quite happy just being the two of us.

I decided that one of two things needed to happen. Either my desire to have a child needed to be put on hold for a while, or Warren needed to want our family to grow, as well. So, I pulled out my favorite weapon. I prayed that Warren would want a baby to hold and to love.

The very next morning he said, you won't believe the dream I had last night. There was a sweet little girl looking up at me with the most adoring eyes. He was nearly in tears. He was ready to start a family.

Over the course of the next few years we had one boy, then another boy. We would comment that his dream must have gotten it wrong because we felt that we could be done having children...and yet there was that little girl in the dream. Who was she? Why was it so crystal clear and why was that what God used to change Warren's heart?

One day, out of the blue, I found out I was expecting...again. This would be just after I sold every baby item we owned! We had no maternity insurance, no baby things and no expectations of having another one. I had to "adjust"!

Round about the fourth month I began having early contractions and extremely high blood pressure. The doctor said he had never seen such high blood pressures so early in a pregnancy. He was a veteran OB not a newbie just out of school. There were many tests. I was on bedrest from the end of the fourth month. One of those tests was an ultrasound. This is where I fell in love with Chelsea. She got her name then. I began buying little dresses.

Several times I was in preterm labor in the hospital and was told that if I delivered nothing could be done....Chelsea was too little.

As time went on....the OJ Simpson trial had at least one person that saw it from beginning to end...from the couch I watched friends from church clean my oven, deliver meals, care for my two toddlers, family take off from work to care for us. The blessings just poured into our lives.

I learned the power of prayer. For someone who is a "do-er" lying around all day, every day, gets very old. God taught me that my value is not in me...it is from Him...I joined a woman from church in praying that her son and a young woman from the congregation would fall in love and be married. They did and they are so happy all of these years later. There were so many things to pray about. I miss so many of these as I am so busy "doing".

There was a nurse who would come to my home every day to check on my well being. She ended up coming to our church after this and really grew in the Lord. I am just saying that the Lord's ways are not always our ways. I was so frustrated with the circumstances but kept falling more and more in love with the little girl fighting to live inside of me.

Finally, the doctors agreed that if Chelsea made it to July 6th they would induce me a couple of weeks early. Warren had a huge part to play in the local Fourth of July Celebrations. The big happenings were at Nittany Stadium in State College which happens to be very near the hospital. He would not assure me that he would come if labor began. He said that I just could not have her that day. Ha! Well, while I did have contractions she waited and I was induced as planned.

Today, we have the loveliest daughter named Chelsea. I know that she made an impact on this world before she even took her first breath of air! Chelsea does look up at her Daddy with adoring eyes just like he saw in his dream.
Doesn't it just make you wonder?

Does God still speak to us in dreams? Was that a coincidence? We held onto the hope that she would make it, in part because of that dream...Hmmmm....I don't really know but I know that God used it in our lives in a big way.

Another faith building experience...as you get older you look back on your life and see the handprint of God so clearly. When you are in the midst of it sometimes it is harder to see His plan.

Well, this post was a lot longer than I even dreamt of posting today. I am sure that this story was told on this blog before...in some form...so if you have already read it, I apologize. I just had to reflect on this today after reading Alicia's Dream Post.

Saving Faith

The word "faith" brings many things to mind. There are the questions that we may ask each other such as, "What Faith are you?" Meaning, what church do you attend or whom do you worship.

We may hear the word "faith" and think of those great men and women of the Bible who we are told had great faith. For example, the centurion who trusted Jesus to heal his servant from afar in Luke 7. Jesus said, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel".

The question we need to ask ourselves is, what or Who is our faith in? Is it valid? How does that really show itself in our lives?

Are faith and hope the same things?

I don't think so. I believe that faith is believing in something or someone without the ability to understand or comprehend the how or the why our faith is justified.
2 Corinthians 5:7 tells us that we live by faith not by sight. Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
When we hope for something it is an uncertainty in our minds but when we have faith, it is for us as if it has already happened.

For example, our salvation and home in heaven. We must have faith to believe that Jesus is really God and that He truly was able to pay the penalty for our sins. None of us sat down with God and were personally face to face in on the planning and execution of the plan. We have faith, if we believe, that the Word of God is true and we have help and assistance in this believing faith through the Holy Spirit who witnesses in our hearts and lives that this is true. But, the fact remains that we do not have first hand knowledge of any of it.

It would be impossible for any one of us to insist that we knew from personal experience that heaven exists and that it is the end result of our walk of faith.
My Grandpa had what you might call a "near death" experience. It was a faith builder for him. Did he see heaven, I don't know. He didn't know, but it strengthened his faith and desire to serve the Lord.

Now, before you stone me....let me say that I believe with my whole heart that Jesus did die for my sins and that HE was the only one who could have been the substitute. I believe that I will be in Heaven when I die not because of any special work on my part...but only because of the faith granted to me by my Father, God Himself, through the Holy Spirit. This brings peace. I have no one to talk to who has been there and back and can give me intimate details and confirmation that all of this is real. I simply believe it.

In my every day life, I have faith that my Heavenly Father is caring and watching out for me. I know, from personal experience that bad things can happen. Losing both of our fathers in less than two years was pretty bad. Both fathers suffered intensely. Horrible. Did it shake my faith? No. Only by the grace of God, it did not. I "saw" God's hands in so many details. I "felt" Him near when things were so dark.

During this time I struggled with extreme pain. The doctors were at a loss as to what was causing it. I had three surgeries in less than two years and almost succombed to a horrible infection. Did this cause me to lose faith?

No, how could I have made it through without this faith?

Instead, the Holy Spirit again worked in the circumstances of the pain and I am stronger in my faith today than I was before. Why? I don't know. I do know that I would hate to face any of these thing without the faith that there is something a whole lot better to look forward to.

I have heard the arguement that Christians are weak and profess faith to help them make it through hard times. OK. If that is what you want to think...but there are many Christians in this world who would be a lot better off, in this world if they denied their faith. I do not think they are wimps. Me, maybe...them...not so much!
For stories such as these read from the Voice of the Martyrs. These people are actively acting out their faith.

I'll be honest and tell you that I love apologetics. Every month or week it seems that archeology goes further to document the words written in the Bible. The history backs up the Word. Science discoveries come closer and closer to the Bible all the time, if people are honest. In the book of The Psalms we are told that there are "paths" through the sea. It was not until the 1800's that currents were understood and documented. There are several credible organizations ... and some with questionable abilities and motives...studying these things, but the more we learn the more we can see God, the Creator.

All of that aside, it would not be enough without a supernatural intervention in our lives to grant us saving faith. I am thankful today that God has granted that to those He calls His own. I trust that you have saving faith. If not and you wish to chat, feel free to e-mail me your questions.

Saving Faith - Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. A gift, not us, lest we should boast. A future not seen and yet fully believed. With HIM! The one who died for me.