[Faith-talk] FW: IBGN~NEWSLETTER~ A Call to Understanding

[Eric Calhoun]

Original Message: 
From: J3281 at aol.com
To: J3281 at aol.com
Subject: IBGN~NEWSLETTER~ A Call to Understanding
Date: 
Sun, 4 May 2008 17:21:22 EDT




Reflections:
A Call to Understanding
Jay Paterson
J3281 at aol.com



"The Lord is close to the 
brokenhearted and saves those
 who are crushed in spirit." 

Psalm 34-18



A huge obstacle, a roadblock, if you will, that many will face in their 
lifetime is their inability and unwillingness to let go of their past
heartaches, 
and give them to God ... those negative events or circumstances that have
taken 
place, causing them to question or doubt the intent and plans of our
Father 
in Heaven. 

When we do this, when we allow this to happen, it will become difficult,
if 
not impossible, for God to work in our lives ... to turn our negative
events 
into blessings ... and, as well, it will limit our ability to help others
who 
may experience a similar situation along the way ... others who will
desperately 
need to hear our positive testimony ... our personal story of how God has

transformed and redirected our lives! 

The evil one will often leap at the opportunity to latch on to our less
than 
desirable and heartbreaking experiences in life, and will, through his 
craftiness and manipulation, tamper with our minds, with nothing other
than deception 
as his primary intent. He will use the moment for his own advantage, and
will 
attempt to cause us to remove our eyes from Christ Jesus. And, it is only
in 
the times that we lose sight of Him that we will truly be in deep
trouble!
"Then Peter got down out 
of the boat, walked on the water 
and came toward Jesus. 

But when he saw the wind, 
he was afraid and, beginning to 
sink, cried out: Lord, save me!"

Matthew 14:30

As we read in the Book of Matthew, God's Word clearly shares with us this

truth when we read the story of Peter, who, in the midst of a fierce
storm, got 
out of his boat and attempted to walk across the water to Jesus. As long
as 
Peter kept his eyes clearly focused on Jesus, he had no problem and did
just 
fine. It was only in the moments that he allowed his eyes to lose sight
of Christ 
Jesus that he ran into difficulty, and then began to sink. 

The same is true of us! This miracle isn't something that took place only

when Jesus was here on earth, but continues to this day ... this very
moment! 
When we take our eyes off Jesus and focus only on our less than desirable

circumstances, heartbreaks and losses, becoming fearful because of them
as we do, we, 
too, will begin to sink!  

But when we out reach to Him in the midst of that same storm, with our
eyes 
focused clearly on Him, we will once again regain our balance and
composure. 
This verse is one of my personal favorites, as it speaks so much truth
about our 
daily lives and the manner in which we face and handle our moments of
great 
adversity.   

Prior to my baptism in water at Central Christian Church, on January
14th, of 
2004, which was, in a truth, a reaffirmation of a commitment I had
already 
made earlier in life, but done this time with a spirit of total
acceptance, 
commitment and surrender unto Him, I was given the opportunity to reflect
upon 
some significant events in my own life, and just how much Christ Jesus
has really 
impacted it all.

At that time, I shared what I felt was the single most significant event
in 
my life, that being the untimely death of my little sister, Deborah Sue. 
Although I had tremendous difficulty accepting it at the time, I now look
upon it 
with an entirely new perspective, and can clearly see and understand how
much 
God was involved in it all, turning good into what appeared to be bad,
and just 
how much the short life of one little twelve year old girl would impact
and 
change the lives of countless people in the years following her call to
Glory. 

At the young age of fourteen, when my little sister was so ill with
terminal 
cancer, I came to know of Christ Jesus, and developed a relationship with
Him. 
I grew in Him and began to trust Him, believing that He was the Great 
Physician and that He would heal Deborah and deliver her from the dreaded
cancer that 
was slowly taking her life . a disease that eventually encompassed and 
devastated her entire body! 

Upon reflection, looking back to that dark period in my life, I believe
that 
when she went Home to God, I gave up on Him, lost complete trust in Him,
and 
for a period of many lost years, completely removed my eyes from Him. 

I had allowed myself, through my own ignorance, lack of faith and 
understanding, to turn away from Him, and yes, I most certainly did begin
to sink! 

As I realized many years later, as my maturity in Christ grew and
developed, 
I had failed, at that time in my life, to understand that God's grace can
only 
shine in its ultimate brilliance once we allow it to emerge from our own 
ultimate darkness! It was necessary for me to learn this, which, as I
said, was to 
come many years later, and only then was I able to experience the turning

point that has changed my life for all of eternity!  

Only through God's grace, along with His constant tapping me on the
shoulder, 
in the attempt to gain my attention, was I never allowed to forgot about
Him. 
In spite of my outward stubbornness and rebellion, I continued to have a
deep 
inner yearning to come into relationship with Him ... to come to really
know 
Him, on an intimate level! 

As it eventually turned out, the day did come when my relationship with
my 
Lord and Savior would once again blossom and come to full fruition ... a
day 
that only He knew would come to be!

As I grew older, many years later, I came to the realization that He did,

indeed, heal my little sister, but not here on Earth. He healed her on
His terms, 
in Heaven, for His mighty purpose, which was difficult for me to accept
at 
the time . but nonetheless, it was, indeed, the seed that was to begin my

journey . my walk with Him! 

Our Father in Heaven is a good God, is most gracious, with nothing less
than 
the best in mind for all of us! Make no mistake about it ... He has a
plan, a 
magnificent and glorious plan that can, at times, seem so very much
mysterious 
and frightening to us at times ... one that we may find difficult to
accept, 
but nonetheless, one we must always believe to be the right one! We must 
trust, with absolute faith, and believe, without a seed of doubt, that He
will 
never lead us astray, nor will He ever betray us. Sadly, this is a truth
that many 
never come to understand, nor accept throughout their entire lifetime!

Debbie's life was not in vain, nor was her Homecoming at such a young age
a 
punishment from God for the actions of any one of us in her family. Could
He 
have healed her on Earth? Yes, but He chose not to, just as He chose not
to 
circumvent the crucifixion of His own Son, Christ Jesus, although He
could have! 
He did, though, turn what appeared to be bad at the time, into a huge
blessing 
for all involved, as well as many others in the years that were to come!

My brother Tom's life was impacted radically! He let go of a promising
career 
in art, to become a minister . a ministry that changed the course of many

lost souls during his relatively short time here on Earth!

My Dad's life was radically changed as well, and this is, perhaps, what
has 
impacted me the most as the years have progressed ... as God revealed His

mighty purpose to me!

Dad went through a period in his life that reflected his tremendous loss,
the 
loss of a child. Many parents have a difficult time getting through the 
months and years that follow such an event, and many never get through it
at all. 
Some married couples tend to blame each other . with the belief that
either one 
could have done something, anything, to change the outcome. But there is
no 
truth to this at all! It is neither the fault of God, nor anyone else! 

Because Debbie lived, and then died ... and because God had graced the
world 
with her presence, my Dad's life was changed in a most significant
manner. As 
time progressed, he went on to surrender His own life to Christ, after 
personally living out many months of guilt and alcohol abuse following her
death 
before doing so ... and, as we have become so accustomed to saying these
days ... 
the rest is history! The Hound of Heaven ... the Hand of God, had touched
him, 
and transformed him, just as He did me ... and just as He will with you,
if 
you but allow Him to! 

To this very day, Dad's ongoing focus, in his business life, as well as
his 
personal life, is sharing with the world the cleansing and reaffirming
affects 
of living his life completely surrendered unto Christ ... and to living
the 
Christ centered life in everything that he does! 

Because of his radical transformation, his career in business took a
radical 
turn. His priorities, not only in the business world, but in all aspects
of 
his life, became completely realigned with those of the Father, and new,
richly 
rewarding experiences, as well as acquaintances were birthed.

And, my dear friends, because of just one of those many new acquaintances
... 
a God inspired acquaintance ... all a direct result of Debbie's
experience, 
along with her own reaction to it ... the lives of many have been
impacted, as 
well as the interaction and friendship of two people God was to later
place in 
each other's midst, a book was written that has, perhaps, changed the
course 
of human history, and, as well, the course of Christianity! Had this life

changing illness with lil Debbie never occurred, this never would have
taken 
place! Significant? You bet it is! 

I was led to share this with you today ... perhaps as a reminder of how 
wonderful, gracious, loving, kind and trustworthy our Father in Heaven is.
At 
times, I feel, we all tend to lose sight of this ... and we must never
allow this 
to happen, as difficult as it may be at certain times! God is in complete

control, and He not only knows what He is doing, but He also knows
exactly what it 
is that we need! Please, don't ever forget this!  

It is my prayer that this message will be a blessing to you, one that, 
throughout the months and years to come, will strengthen you and assist
you as you 
travel through the storms and adversities of life that we all will be
faced 
with, at some time or another!



"I have told you these 
things, so that in Me you 
may have peace. 

In this world you will 
have trouble, but take heart! 

I have overcome the world." 

John 16: 33



Jay Paterson
© 2008
J3281 at aol.com

Click Here:
If You Never



The Weekly Message from
Central Christian Church
in Henderson, Nevada



"Re-New Tomorrow"

As shared by:
Mike Foster
Guest Speaker
27th of March 2008

Click here:
Re-New Tomorrow

This is an awesome, life changing,
 message, Folks ... full of wisdom, so 
please ... put aside some quality time to 
listen ... to hear ... to absorb and to learn 
all that all that God has in store for you, 
through the power of His 
Amazing Grace! 

All Central messages are very, 
very special, and are life changing!


Click Here:
Uncensored Grace.com

Visit Central's Website:
Central Christian Church



**************
Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists on family 
favorites at AOL Food.
      
(http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001)