Help My Unbelief

 

Phillip and grandboys
pickleball game

The boy's father cried out, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24)

In a pickleball game Monday evening, our opponent collapsed on the court and cried, "My Achilles tendon just blew!"

While his friend ran to get the truck, we knelt and asked Jesus to heal him. Shortly afterward, the man said, "It's feeling better!" With a little assistance, he walked to the truck.

What just happened? Did God miraculously heal a torn tendon? I do not know, but this I do know: I did not expect Him to. My faith was small.

~

In the Gospel of Mark, a man from the crowd asked Jesus to heal his son, "Have mercy on us and help us, if you can."

Jesus answered, "What do you mean, if I can? Anything is possible if a person believes."

The father cried out, "I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!"

Jesus then healed the boy.

~

So, is the point of this post: If you believe strongly enough, God will do anything you ask? 

NO!

The point of this post is: When we pray, we should expect our God who is able to act and whether He answers YES, NO, or WAIT, we must strongly trust that He is able, He is right, He is good, He is loving, and He is all-wise. All the time.

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Yard Boy

 

6-year-old grandboy and Dan

"Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6)

Our 6-year-old grandboy is a hard worker. He's had his own garden since three. Recently, when his dad asked if he wanted to play soccer, he said, "I'd like to, Daddy, but I've got work to do." Yesterday, with close supervision, he mowed our yard.

Proverbs 12:24 says, "Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor."

Beloved, may we train the next generation to work hard, as working for the Lord, and may God bless the work of their hands!

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Children of God

grandboys

 "To all who received Him, to those who believed in [Jesus'] name, He gave the right to become children of God —children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God." (John 1:12-13)

We had a grand time with our 13 children and grandchildren last week — the 3 I birthed, the 3 they married, and the 7 they birthed. My heart is bursting with gratitude to God!

Every person born on planet earth is God's creation, but the Bible tells us that only those who receive Jesus as God's Son and believe that He died on the cross for their sins and rose again are God's children.

Beloved, are you a child of God?

 

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A Dose of Merry

my superman

"A merry heart does good like a medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones." (Proverbs 17:22)

Yesterday, when Phillip was checking out at Publix, he held up a can of hairspray and asked the cashier, "You think this will hold my hair?"

 

Beloved, put some "merry" into someone's life today.

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Today's Assignment

my Rebecca
 S.T.E.A.M. class teacher
(Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics)
Clear Creek Christian School

 

Today's assignment from Teacher Jesus: 

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20)

Got it?

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There Are No Men

top row L-R: Lt. Holzhausen, Capt. Brown, Lt. Ayres
bottom row L-R: Lt. Watson (my dad), Lt. Kruske
104th AAA
Subic Bay, Philippines 
World War II

"Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war! Rouse the warriors! Let all the fighting men draw near and attack." (Joel 3:9)

Our church is partnered with a sister church in Europe, supplying vans to transport evacuees from Ukraine to shelters. The pastor said, "We're  seeing only women and children. There are no men. The men are staying back to fight."

Beloved, God says there is a time for everything under the sun —a time for war and a time for peace. Pray now for those in a time for war.

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Glimpse of Heaven

our 13 kids and grands



"Shout joyfully to God, all the earth." (Psalm 66:1)

Monday, the entire Phillip-Glassco clan gathered at the Coosa River. What a day of rejoicing!

Moreover, the day we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be!!

Will you be there, beloved?

Sing the wondrous love of Jesus,

Sing His mercy and His grace;

In the mansions bright and blessed

He'll prepare for us a place.

When we all get to heaven,

What a day of rejoicing that will be!

When we all see Jesus,

We'll sing and shout the victory!

Let us then be true and faithful,

Trusting, serving every day;

Just one glimpse of Him in glory

Will the toils of life repay.

When we all get to heaven,

What a day of rejoicing that will be!

When we all see Jesus,

We'll sing and shout the victory!1

1 WHEN WE ALL GET TO HEAVEN. Eliza E. Hewitt, 1898.

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She'll Be Comin' Round That Mountain

 

my Rebecca's family

"You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands." (Isaiah 55:12)

My Rebecca and her family are coming today for their spring break! Yippee-ki-yi-yah! 

Therefore, blog posts may be few and far apart this week. 

May the Lord's blessings be upon you, beloved, until we meet again!

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3 Husbands

 

My beautiful Rebecca and Stephen
2004

"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her." (Ephesians 5:25)

In women's ministry, I hear some horrifically heartbreaking stories. Currently, I'm fervently praying for three husbands who treat their sweet wives like dirt. 

O Lord, Proverbs 11:6 says the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires. I beg You, Lord, please save these men. Save their souls and train them to love their wives sacrificially as Christ loved the church. Break the trap of evil desires. May they know the truth and the truth set them free. May they no longer copy the behavior of the world, but transform them by renewing their minds, so they will know and do Your good will. As their wives wait on You, Lord, make them strong in You and in Your mighty power. Fill them with wisdom, hope, joy, and peace as they trust in You by the power of the Holy Spirit. Nothing is impossible for You, O Lord. My hope is in You, my great and awesome God! In Jesus' name I pray, Amen and Amen.

In a heartbreaking relationship, beloved? Pray and hope in the One who is able.

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Two or Three

 

L-R Jakiyah, Felicia, Cerenity

"For where two or three gather together in My name, there am I in their midst." (Matthew 18:20)

For years now, Felicia and I have met together and prayed one for another. Jesus comes, too.

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for Your faithful presence. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for faithful sisters in Christ!

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Strong-willed

 

grandboys and Bell

"But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears. They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the . . . words that the LORD Almighty had sent by His Spirit." (Zechariah 7:11-12)

I was a strong-willed child. 

I raised strong-willed children.

My children are now raising strong-willed children.

My mother used to say, "Strong-willed is a good if it's turned in the right direction."

The LORD God says, "If your heart turns away and you will not obey, but allow yourself to be led astray . . . I declare to you today that you will certainly perish . . . I have placed before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your children, by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding close to Him, for this is your life and the length of your days." (Deuteronomy 30:17-20)

Got a strong-willed child, beloved? Teach him to strongly love the Lord, obey His voice, and hold fast to God all the days of his life.

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Be Courageous Be Strong

my friend, Collin

"Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong." (1 Corinthians 16:13)

A beloved friend in Tennessee sent this snapshot with the text: You have another fan!

Her adult son, Collin, is reading Fish Fry. He told her how he equates the Nelson Mandela quote in Chapter 6 ("Courage is not the absence of fear but the triumph over it") to the Ukrainian people.

Lord, thank you for speaking to Your children of all ages through Fish Fry.  O Father, please help Your children in Ukraine stand firm in their faith; be courageous; be strong. In Jesus' name, Amen and amen.

 

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Strategy

 

grandboy warriors

"When you hear a sound like marching in the tops of the poplar trees, go out and attack! That will be the signal that God is moving ahead of you to strike down the Philistine army." (1 Chronicles 14:15)

Throughout the Old Testament, we find God giving His warriors different and sometimes bizarre strategies for battle.

For King Jehoshaphat: 

"Do not be afraid or discouraged . . . for the battle is not yours, but God's . . . Tomorrow . . . you will not have to fight this battle. Stand firm and see the deliverance of the LORD." (2 Chronicles 20:15-17)

For King David: 

"Do not go directly after them, but circle around them and attack them in front of the poplar trees." (1 Chronicles 14:14)

For Joshua: 

"March around [Jericho] once with all your armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in." (Joshua 6:3-7)

In the New Testament, Paul wrote: "Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil." (Ephesians 6:10-11)

Recently, my insightful daughter, Rebecca, reminded me that we must fight the enemy's strategies with God's strategic prayers.

In a battle beloved? Seek the Lord. Ask for His strategy against the enemy. Then fall on your knees and fight!

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That's One

 

my friend, Stephen

"Do you love Me? . . . Then feed My sheep."

 (John 21:17)

One of the instructions God gave for my children's books is: "Feed My sheep." Last night, a beloved son-like friend sent this snapshot of his boy reading Fish Fry. I said, "Well, Lord, one fed, a flock to go!"

Father God, thank You for feeding Your word of truth to Stephen through fiction. I pray Stephen hides Your word in his heart so he will not sin against You. May he never conform to the ways of this world. Transform him by renewing his mind so that he will know and delight in your good and perfect will. As a teenager, I pray that Stephen will run from youthful lusts, run toward righteousness, faith, love, and peace, and run with friends who call on You with pure hearts. Grow this boy into a mighty man of God who loves You, obeys Your voice, and holds fast to You all the days of his life. May Stephen complete every good work You have prepared for him to do and bring You great glory! In Jesus' name I pray, Amen and amen.

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Preparation

grandgirl 2014

"For forty days and nights [Jesus] fasted." (Mattthew 4:2)

Yesterday was the first day of lent, a 40-day season of prayer, fasting, and preparation prior to Easter, the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Although the term "lent" is not found in the Bible, the tradition follows the example of Christ's 40-day fast recorded in Matthew 4, Mark 1, and Luke 4.

Jesus gave a model for prayer called The Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13.

Jesus modeled the best time to pray in Mark 1:35: "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up . . . went off to a solitary place, where He prayed."

Jesus modeled the humble posture of prayer in Luke 22:41: "And He withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed."

Beloved, I encourage you to join believers around the world and me in 40 days of prayer, fasting, and preparation for Resurrection Sunday. 

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Rescue Mission

 

my grandboy, the real Fish Fry

"He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me." (Psalm 18:19)

In my new book, a boy nicknamed Fish Fry and his brother, Jacob, are on mission to rescue their missing friend, Professor Sparrow.

As I type this post, my son, Dan, is on mission to rescue a family friend from homelessness and drug addiction.

Oh, Lord God, You are our Shepherd. Please rescue this lost sheep and make her lie down in green, safe pastures. Lead her beside quiet waters and restore her body, soul, and spirit. Please, please, please guide her down right paths for Your name's sake. To You be the glory! In Jesus' name I plead. Amen and amen!

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