Coincidentally....

Christian's across the globe can attest to the fact that God works a lot through coincidences. I know so many of my brother's and sister's who can tell you about how they just happened to do this one thing that led to this other thing where they met exactly who they needed to meet to do exactly what God wanted them to do. For me personally, I got a job working with people with disabilities several years back through a whole string of coincidences. I prayed to God, a friend cancelled her plans because she got sick, I decided to go to a different friends party instead, and the manager of one of the companies that I was applying for just happened to be at that party. I was worried about the pay initially because it was half of what I was making before, but stepped out on faith. Within three months, I was making almost exactly the same as before. Coincidence?
Robert and I take a step of faith with our giving and decide to give our whole tithe to God. The next day we see a job application for Boys Town in Nebraska and within a week we are told they are flying us in for an interview. Neither of us had planned to do anything different...in fact, we had completely different plans, BUT we took a step in faith and went. By the end of the year, we were living in Nebraska, with our housing, food, and utilities completely covered. We were now able to give more and help kids. Coincidence?
I was just reading about my pastor in Chandler and how his little boy died at 10 years old when he was hit by a car. They asked God to show them the good that came from their sons death. First off, they found out that 10 other lives were saved from the organs that he donated. Then, someone in their family called them and told them to turn on the TV. A family was on a talk show talking about how organ transplants had saved their son and they also saw that this family had a really strong faith in God. From what the family said, they knew that this families little boy had received their son's heart. All by chance, they ended up getting to meet this family and became close friends. Coincidence?
My dad's sister (trying to prove a point) tells my dad that if God wanted him to have a new DVD player He would get it for him. Later that day, a lady from his apartment complex stops by to let him know that she thought he needed a new DVD player and handed it to him. Just another coincidence?
You know...I could go on and on here. So I guess the question is do you believe these are all just things that randomly happen? OR do you believe that there is a loving God out there that really cares about his sons and daughters? If you are not a believer, your father in heaven wants to have a relationship with you. He wants to know you intimately and lovingly. He wants to show you how much he has been willing to do for you all along. He isn't going to make you love him, but he will keep on inviting you until you agree to listen. The bible is the truth. It has always been the truth. It is God's love story to us. It shows us how without him we aren't capable of living a life even remotely close to the life that we live with him. His laws keep us from hurting ourselves and others. God sent his own son here to earth to share his good news with us and to let us know how very much he loves us and that he does not want any of us to die. He invites us all into eternal life. Unfortunately, he won't drag us kicking and screaming. We have to come willingly to him and ask him to forgive us for our sins and to come into our hearts. When we do that, we are transformed.
I have friends who tell me, Cindy, you are a completely different person now. It's like I had to get to know you all over again when you became a Christian. Well, that's what happens. He changes you from the inside out. I guess that is scary for some people. It's hard to think about not thinking the same way anymore. Sin is so enticing and fun looking. I'm not saying I don't sin anymore, I'm just saying that God has made me aware of it when I do. When I admit to him what I have done and ask for his help and forgiveness, he readily offers it and shows me what to do to make it right if I can. This can be through the bible, through a still small voice, through advice from a fellow Christian, or through little happenstances. It almost always involves my stepping out in faith in some way though. I guess for me, I don't need anymore proof of his existance than that. However, there is all kinds of proof out there. So, when Jesus was here before, he told his people to share the good news. He is coming back for us, although we don't know the day or the hour when he will come. The good news is that he wants you to come too, but he can only take those who want to come. Check out the whole story here:

http://www.biblestudytools.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?passage=mt+1&version=niv&language=en&showtools=0

OR if you have a bible you can start at the new testament with Matthew and read through to Acts. Of course, the rest of the book is great too. So, you'll want to get to that later in your journey.

Now you can't say you didn't know because, well, I just told you. Remember, no matter what you believe the truth to be, there is really only one truth. Check it out.

Also, feel free to post your questions.

Encouragement

I was having a pretty down day today. We had our annual crop walk today and I couldn't go because my hips and back were hurting really bad. I really enjoyed doing it last year, so I was kind of down. On top of that, I was really moody and blah today. So, I dropped everyone off at the church for it and then went to get something to eat. I wasn't feeling the greatest and was kind of picking at my food when a lady walked up to me and asked if I was ok. I told her that I was pregnant and just not feeling that well. She asked how far along I was and I told her almost five months. Then she put her hand on my shoulder and said, "well, this too shall pass. You know...the feeling pregnant part of pregnancy." I don't think that she knew how much that meant to me, but I almost couldn't keep from crying in the restaurant before I left. It was the encouragement that I needed at the moment. I instantly felt God's love. It is awesome that something as insignificant as a down day is important enough for Him to send me a message about. The saying "this too shall pass" actually comes from folk lore. There are several versions. I'll put one of them here so you can read it.

An eastern monarch who drew his sages together one day in his kingdom and all of his soothsayers and the wise men of the kingdom were drawn together, and he said, "You know, men, I would like you to summarize for me the wisdom of the world. I'd like you to bring it to me; I'd like you to work on it, and I'd like you to collect the wisdom of the world. I want to see it; I want to read it." And they worked for many months, and they brought back to him several volumes of what they called the Wisdom of the World, the pithy sayings of the world.

And they said, "This is it; this is the wisdom of the world."

And he looked at it, and he said, "You know, that is really good. Thank you. It's wonderful," he said, "but it's too much." He says, "Can you reduce this, like a fine French sauce. Can you reduce it to maybe a single volume."

And so they went back, and they worked, and they worked, and they worked for several months, and they brought back a single volume of the best of the wisdom of the world. And they said, "This is it."

And he took the book, and he held it gingerly in his hands, and he thumbed through it, and he read it for a little while, and after a couple of weeks he brought his wise men back together, and he said, "You know," he says, "this is really good. But what I really would like for you to do is to reduce the wisdom of the world to a sentence. Can you put it in a sentence?"

And they said, "We don't know. We don't know if we can do this."

And so finally after many more months of work, all the sages came back to him, and they had come to a unanimous conclusion that the wisdom of the world could be put into a four-word sentence. They told the king that this sentence expresses much. It is chastening in the hour of pride and consoling in the depths of afflictions. And I've reflected on this sentence this week. The sentence of their wisdom was: "This too shall pass."

Here is another version if you are interested:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_too_shall_pass

I Corinthians 10:12 - "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall."