#1thessalonians

[e-c-i-m]

Dear Child of God,

Let us be glad in Jesus!

Love, ECIM

Video: Canva Music: This is My Father’s World - Kaleb Brasee Cover

[thelattertimesofbeingcrazyfc]

20,000 Views - 🙏🏼🤗

I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude to all of you subscribers, friends, and family, for helping me achieve an incredible milestone: 20,000 views. Words can’t fully capture how thankful I am for each and every one of you. I often wrestle with self-doubt, insecurity, and a painfully low sense of self-esteem. Yet, the fact that you continue to visit this site, show your love,…

[biblenewsprophecy]

[drshermaines-wisdomnuggets]

"THE SECRET OF CONTENTMENT"

Philippians 4:12, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the SECRET OF BEING CONTENT in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” {NIV} Believe it or not, but sometimes Contentment has 3 Simple Secrets: 1…LEARNING TO BE HAPPY WITH LESS: A hard-charging executive decided to spend a few days in a…

[itsyourchoicedevotionals]

Without Investigating

“Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen…” Genesis 47:27NIV

“Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that darkness may spread over the land of Egypt—a palpable darkness. …total darkness covered all the land of Egypt for three days. No one could see anyone else, and for three days no one left his place. Yet all the Israelites had light in their dwellings.” Exodus 10:21-23BSB

Have you ever been in a cavern, when the tour guide shuts off the light momentarily? The darkness can be felt. We stand in sin’s darkness equal to the darkness of a cavern. People are so lost in this darkness, they have nothing pointing to the way out. 

Many of the people lost in this darkness are believers in Christ who have succumbed to a lie and lost their way— “…for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness” 2Thessalonians 2:11-12KJV. They chose to believe lies rather than the truth of the gospel. That single choice cost them their salvation, —Matthew 24:12.  Meanwhile they believe they’re going to heaven. Lies such as: ‘the Bible is not the infallible word of God;’ ‘Jesus was not birthed by a virgin mother;’ ‘all religions lead to God.’

Society has become overrun by the demonic. One major area I’ve seen the Believers’ passion waning is the political arena— aka government. These Believers have accepted the lie stating they need to stay out of politics. 

God—Jesus is a judge, and King with a government which will never end— see Luke 1:32-33. Then 2Corinthians 5:10NIV “…we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ…”showing, there’s a courtroom in heaven. Somewhere the church became sidetracked. We’ve not been effective in changing the world’s governments by our belief system.  (Newsflash! The reason our world is in such a mess is because Believers don’t hold all of the political offices. Those who do hold offices are fraught with backlash from the overwhelming majority of worldly politicians.) 

Absurdly, Christians are prone to pick candidates according to the political parties of their parents, friends, even the evening news. They do so without investigating politician’s political platforms; where the individual candidate’s actions say they stand; often their voting records. 

Believers numerically have the ability to seat and unseat any politician, IF EVERYONE of us would all vote. Too many Believers say, ‘oh it’s all fake or crooked,’ or ‘I don’t like any of the candidates,’ ‘my vote doesn’t count,’ —therefore I won’t vote. A non-vote is a vote for evil and Holy Spirit sees it. As Believers, all of us, bearing the name of Jesus must pray to get the mind of Christ— then vote. Even if it means voting against our favored political party. Perhaps I am a bit opinionated, but I don’t know how a true Believer could vote for anyone whose political party supports abortion or euthanasia, because that’s murder, Proverbs 24:11NIV “Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter.” God alone has that right to choose the time of death.

Darkness wasn’t allowed in Goshen where the Israelites had settled. They lived in light. None of the evil Egyptian government’s plagues came upon them. They were freed from the sufferings of their slave masters. Per 1Thessalonians 5:5NASB1977 we— “are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness;” Our every action and motive of our hearts must come from the Kingdom of our God and His Light within us. Which way will you choose? It’s your choice. You choose.

LET’S PRAY: Holy God we choose to live in the light of Your way and Your gospel. Help us to hold on to You in belief, in the nama of Jesus Christ I pray.

by Debbie Veilleux

Copyright 2024 You have my permission to reblog this devotional for others. Please keep my name with this devotional. as author. Thank you.

[coptorthodox]

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 4:14

#coptorthodox #bibleverse #bible #bibleversedaily #dailyverse #coptic #orthodox @coptorthodox #christisrisen #easter #1thessalonians #1thessalonians4 #1thessalonians414 #1thessalonians4v14 #jesus

[psalmonesermons]

The Whole Armour of God Part 4/5

The Helmet of Salvation and the Sword of the Spirit

5. The Helmet of Salvation

Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

The helmet protects the head representing the mind or the thought life. We must know how to protect our minds. Satan will attack our minds with such things as mistrust. That is one of his favourite weapons. We begin to mistrust our wife, our husband, our fellow Christians, our pastor. . . Then comes suspicion and then fear and doubt and depression. Depression is surprisingly common in Christians.

Derek Prince (see references in Part 5) tells how God set him personally free from years of depression which also affected his family life, using two scriptures.

Isaiah 61:3 The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.

Joel 2:32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered…

In Isaiah 61:3 he read this phrase: “The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.” And when he read that word “the spirit of heaviness,” it was. like the Holy Spirit said to him, “That is your problem. It is not you, it is not psychological, it is not mental, it is a spirit, it is a person. He saw the real identity of his enemy was a spirit of depression and he reminds us that ‘Evil is not something, it is Someone.’ Derek then realised that he needed one more thing and that was Joel 2:32 ‘’It shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered.” And Derek was completely delivered from the spirit of heaviness (depression). He also pointed out the need for Christians to develop their own healthy thought patterns over a period of time.

Ephesians 6:17: “Take the helmet of salvation.” This is God’s protection for our heads. This ties in with 1Thessalonians 5:8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. The helmet is hope and we have got to cultivate hope. Hope, in the Bible, is a confident expectation of that which is good. Faith in our minds does not work. Faith has to be in the heart. But the protection for the mind is hope. Now somebody said everybody is born either a pessimist or an optimist.

For a Christian to be a pessimist is a denial of our faith. Why? Because Romans 8:28 says, “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to his purpose.”

Romans 8:24: For we are saved by hope.

Ephesians 2:12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

Romans 8:24: For we are saved by hope . . . (KJV) No hope, no salvation. Ephesians 2:12, speaking about those without Christ, the unsaved. Paul says: That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world. (KJV). From this we can see three things. Without Christ, without God, without hope. They go together. We can see clearly, no hope, no Christ then our salvation hinges on hope. I am saved by hope. If I am without hope, I am without Christ. And if I have Christ, I have hope.

Hebrews 6: 19 says: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast… If a ship is to be secured, it has to have an anchor which passes through the unstable medium of water and fastens into something stable and secure such as a rock. If we want security and stability, we have to have an anchor that passes through time into eternity and fastens in the Rock of Ages. And this anchor of hope takes us beyond the second veil into the Holy of Holies, into the immediate presence of Almighty God where Jesus, our High Priest and forerunner has entered for us. Now when your anchor is fastened there, we can smile at the storms of life. But the anchor is hope.

6. The Sword of the Spirit

Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

For the first time we are passing out of the purely defensive into something that could be in a sense called aggressive. Because a sword you can use aggressively and defensively against your enemy. But a sword by itself is limited because it will go no further than your arm can stretch.

Now in Greek there are two words for ‘word.’ One is logos, which means counsel, reason, a set truth. We often use it to describe the written word. The other is rhema, which means specifically a word that is spoken. The word that is used here is rhema. The sword of the Spirit is not the eternal logos, it is the living word of God when you speak it. And if you do not speak it, you have no sword. I think the best example of this is Jesus confronted by the devil in the wilderness. Each temptation He met by saying, “It is written.”

Satan knows it is true. When Jesus said, “It is written, it is written, it is written.” Satan backed off. And we have to do the same as Jesus. We have to know the Word of God and not just have the Bible resting on our desk at night but speak the Word like a sharp two-edged sword out of our mouth. And then at least we can keep the devil at bay.

Amen

Personal Prayer

In Part 5 (our final part) we discover how to put on all the armour and how to enter into the spiritual battle.

[shifengyesu]

被提 – 思考帖撒罗尼迦前书 4:13-18 / The Rapture – Reflections on 1Thessalonians 4:13-18

[theformulaforsuccess]

Join Douglas Vandergraph as he delves into an insightful review of 1 Thessalonians Chapter 1 from the New Testament. In this video, Douglas explores the themes of faith, love, and hope, providing a comprehensive Bible study that enhances your understanding of Paul's letter to the Thessalonians. Whether you're new to biblical studies or looking to deepen your knowledge, this verse-by-verse analysis offers valuable insights into the early Christian church and its relevance today.

Explore more in-depth Bible studies on Douglas Vandergraph’s YouTube channel. Go to https://www.youtube.com/@DouglasVandergraph and subscribe!

Support our ministry by buying Douglas a cup of coffee:

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#BibleStudy #1Thessalonians #NewTestament #Faith #Love #Hope #Christianity #Scripture #BibleReview #DouglasVandergraph

[yhwhrulz]

Wayside Chapel Daily Devotional 10th February 2025

2/10 Mark 14:27

27 And Jesus said to them, "You will all fall away, for it is written, 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.'"

Jesus knew this Scripture applied to Him. If it was written, then it would come to pass. He had complete trust in the Word of God. It was surer than the sun rising in the morning. Jesus is the Great Shepherd and we are the sheep of His pasture (Psalm 100:3). He would be stricken, and His disciples would forsake Him for a time.

The chapter from which Jesus quoted, Zechariah 13, reads like an end-time passage, and I believe that is what it is. But Jesus discerned by the Holy Spirit that this particular verse would have an intermediate fulfillment that week. The Word of God can speak to us by the power of the Holy Spirit. A phrase can jump out of a text and address our situation. That is especially true when we saturate our minds with the Word.

This comment from Jesus to the disciples did not change what they would do. It did tell them that Jesus knew in advance what was coming. He was assuring them that things had to play out in this way. It would look like everything was out of control and even appear as if God was defeated. But the events were going according to God's plan.

There are times in our lives when we will hear a warning from God. We may discern what appears to be defeat coming like an unstoppable tidal wave. The advance warning of the Lord is to assure us that all is in His hands. The only thing that is really unstoppable is the ultimate will of God. His will is your sanctification and transformation into the image of His Son (1Thessalonians 4:3; Romans 8:29). Stand firm, don't fear, be silent, and watch what God does in the end (Exodus 14:13-14).

Remember: In the final analysis, all things work together for the good of those whom God has chosen (Romans 8:28). Hold on and trust the One who has all power.

[baxterkairos]

DANIEL 11:20-21, RAISER OF TAXES, DICTIONARY’S MOST BEAUTIFUL WORDS

President Trump has threatened a variety of new tariffs in the global market, which navigates retaliatory measures and complex trade wars with some countries like China, Canada, and Mexico.

Daniel 11 emphasizes end-time prophecies, focusing particularly on the roles of the 'king of the north' and the 'king of the south,' which respectively represent the Papacy and Protestant America—two powerful entities with global influence, each dominating the northern and southern hemispheres.

DANIEL 11:15, 20

(15) So the KING of the NORTH shall come… and the ARMS of the SOUTH shall not withstand… NEITHER shall there be any STRENGTH to WITHSTAND.

(20) Then shall STAND UP in his ESTATE a RAISER of TAXES… but within few days he shall be destroyed…

The word “taxes” in Strong’s Hebrew #5065 means “to drive an animal, a workman, a debtor, an army, to tax, harass, tyrannize, distress, exact, oppress.

The preceding text precisely correlates to the woman who sat upon the beast in Revelation 17:3-5, which has 7 heads and 10 horns.

The 7 heads on which the woman sitteth are the 7 mountains (Revelation 17:7-9), referring to the geographical location of the beast, notably the 7 hills of Rome.

Thus, the beast in Revelation 17 is the Papacy, who gave power, seat, and authority to His image, the Protestant America, or the Lamblike beast (Revelation 13:1-2, 8, 11-12).

Furthermore, America, being supported by the Papacy, will magnify itself to promote a so-called peace, ultimately leading to the destruction of many (Daniel 11:21-24, 8:24-25, 1Thessalonians 5:3).

President Trump vowed to quickly end the war, declaring in his inaugural speech, "Our power will stop all wars and bring a new spirit of unity... (Isaiah 2:4)"

One characteristic of the image of the beast in these last days is having no desire for women (Daniel 11:36-37). This implies that America will develop a game plan to avert the current norms upheld by churches, particularly in regard to their acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community, as reflected in the endorsement of same-sex marriages.

President Donald Trump has signed executive orders proclaiming that the U.S. government will only recognize two genders, male and female.

Prior to Christ’s coming, America, with its allies (Daniel 11:27-28, 6), will legislate a Sunday decree, leading to the closing of probation, where no one can buy nor sell (Revelation 18:10-11, 13, 17, 19-21, 23).

The merchandise of souls in Revelation 18:13 was also prophesied in Ezekiel 27:13, whereby Tubal and Meshech, referring to Gog and Magog in the northern quarters (Ezekiel 38:2-3, 6, 39:1-2), have traded the persons of men.

REVELATION 20:8-9

(8) And shall go out to DECEIVE the NATIONS which are in the FOUR QUARTERS of the earth, GOG and MAGOG…

(9) …and FIRE CAME DOWN from God out of heaven, and DEVOURED them.

In Greek #1136, “GOG” is a “name for some future antichrist,” while in Greek #3098, “MAGOG” refers to a “nation and an anti-Christian party,” which exactly points to all Babylonian churches.

Hence, Gog in Ezekiel and Revelation are the same, referring to the ANTICHRIST, not the “ROSH,” which is falsely believed to be RUSSIA, as added in different versions of the Bible today.

“The spirit of the ANTICHRIST, according to Pope St. Pius X… can be found where “man… PUT HIMSELF IN THE PLACE OF GOD...” (BEWARE OF RELIGIOUS ERRORS, Fr. Adolf Faroni, SDB & Ben T. Crisostomo, 16)

“The POPE is considered the man on earth… who “TAKES THE PLACE” of the Second Person of the omnipotent God of the Trinity.” (CROSSING THE THRESHOLD OF HOPE by His Holiness JOHN PAUL II, 3)

The beast in Revelation 17:11, who is the Papacy, holds the number 15 (8 + 7 = 15).

Herein, God used the number of the enemy to return their ways to their own heads (Obadiah 15).

PSALM 90:10, 12-13

(10) The DAYS of our years are THREESCORE years and TEN… by reason of strength they be FOURSCORE years…

(12) So TEACH us to NUMBER our DAYS…

(13) RETURN, O LORD, HOW LONG?...

70 – THREESCORE years and TEN, 80 – FOURSCORE years (7 + 0 + 8 + 0 = 15)

The Roman numeral of number 15 is XV.

X – 24, V – 22 (24 + 22 = 46)

Number 46 has an addend of 20 and 26.

By using Concatenation to the addends of number 46: 20 + 26 = 2026

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

[sharingmyfaith]

Prayer

Relationships involve communication, and the more communication there is, the stronger the relationship will be. The same can be said with relationships between God and believers. Prayer is an act of communicating with God. One of the things that we as christians are called to do is to pray to God regularly (1Thessalonians 5:17). By doing this, you will have a strong, faithful personal relationship with Jesus.

The first time I think I had ever heard of prayer was when I was in early grade school. I never thought much of it, just that it was something that you had to do as a Christian. While I knew prayers were a way of talking to God, I didn’t know if it mattered what was said, as long as it was respectful and done in a certain way. The usual things that I often heard during prayers were to give thanks, praying for others, and personal requests. Confessions are to also be done during prayers too, but I don’t think I ever knew that until the last year or so. I always thought it meant to do it to other people, because they don’t know everything while God does.

In recent years as I was drawing near to God, I learned so much more about prayer that I never knew before. For example, aside from confessions, I didn’t know that it was ok to be honest with God. I always thought I had to say only nice things, without telling Him my true feelings. Another thing about prayers that I learned was that there is no one certain way it has to be done, both the length and what all is said-just as long as it’s from the heart.

What has your prayer journey been like?

[christianengineersblog]

IprayMinistry 🇨🇦 Canada/ChristianEngineer

Bible Reading Plan 2024

2Corinthians 1-13; Galatians 1-6; Ephesians 1-6; Philippians 1-4; Colossians 1-4; 1Thessalonians 1-5; 2Thessalonians 1-3

PEACE ON EARTH

"Goodwill Toward Men!"

🙏🏼Prayer📖Verse:Luke 2:14

“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” - Luke 2:14 (NKJV)

READ:Luke 2:1-14; Mathew 1:18-23

OR Whole Chapters

Let's Pray🙏🏼To God

Our Father in Heaven, thank You for the birth of Jesus that brought "Peace on earth" to whoever believes in His Name.

Jesus was born to save sinners from their sins. - Matthew 1:21

The Messiah was prophesied to be born in Judea. - Micah 5:2

Let us celebrate Christmas🎄praising God with the Angelic host saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." - Luke 2:14

Joy to the world Jesus our Savior is born. - Luke 2:11

The birth of Jesus is a great mystery:God was manifested in the flesh. - 1Timothy 3:16

Jesus is Emmanuel "God With Us" - Isaiah 7:14; Mathew 1:22

He is the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." - Isaiah 9:6

For God so loved the world that He gave His Son to save us. - John 3:16

Jesus was born to die in order that we might receive the free gift of Salvation.

Without the shedding of His blood, there is no forgiveness of our sins. - Hebrews 9:22

Jesus Himself is our peace who came to give us perfect peace. - Ephesians 2:14; John 14:27

It is for freedom that You sent Jesus to set us free from sin and gave us eternal life.- Galatians 5:1

May the world today make a choice to receive God's gace unto Salvation. - Ephesians 2:8-9

The "Prince of Peace" will come back to establish a universal peace in His everlasting kingdom.

Father, we thank You for Your Christmas package, 📦the greatest gift with blessings for mankind.

In Jesus precious name we pray. Amen. ---- CPM16DC24

Prayer Engineer

Merry Christmas🎄and Happy Holiday Season.

[itsyourchoicedevotionals]

Kept In Painful Suspense

“For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.” 1Thessalonians 4:15ESV

Who were the “we” Paul referring to in the text verse? Almost every Commentary writer agrees— Paul considered himself to be one of the “we.”

Remembering back into my childhood church years, preachers would attempt to scare us into heaven. They said something like— ‘Jesus may be here even tonight. You’ll miss the first trumpet call out of here. To go to heaven after the first trumpet you’ll be beheaded or go to hell— UNLESS you get up here right now, you’ll end in hell.’ Later in young adulthood, there were eschatology charts everywhere with the timeline for Christ’s return. Preachers gave the same call as in my childhood. This was extremely prevalent because Israel had become a nation in 1948, a MAJOR signpost for His return

We’re close— absolutely. His return may be a breath away, but there are still things to be fulfilled, namely the building of the third temple in Jerusalem. They say the third temple is in a prefab stage awaiting the land in Israel to open for construction. I’m here to tell you, this can occur today.

There’s a video on YouTube regarding persecution mounting against prophets and their prophecies. Even my brother said, ‘prophecies are like people in fear about the devil winning and overtaking believers yakking to each other— well, here’s is a sign. Here’s another sign. Just scared people.’

Every Believer in every generation is kept in painful suspense awaiting His return. Why hasn’t He come yet? 2 Peter 3:9 (NKJV) "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” Do I want my grands and great-grandchildren to end in hell, or be those of the Tribulation? No, I don’t. As long as there are people begging for mercy on their family members He’s probably not coming. There will come a day when evil will be so evil Believers will beg Yahweh to get them out of this earth, even if not all of their family members are born again.

I found myself again being kept in the painful suspense. Things I truly wanted to do, I hesitated in doing because He was coming soon. Was I more fearful than excited? After all of those preachers who had preached to promote fear, now I find no fear, only sheer, ecstatic excitement— I will at last see His face, my Beloved, my King.

Don’t be afraid of missing when He comes back. Nor be afraid of having to live on in the ocean of evil we currently live in all around us. Least of all, fearing we can’t live life because He may appear today. He’s got us. “if we are faithless, He remains faithful— for He cannot deny Himself” 2Timothy 2:13ESV. Let not fear be your master, nor time, nor circumstances, nor the dead and buried. We hav a work to do in winning the lost; conquering evil around each of our personal sphere; and taking back our governments.Trust Him with your times and leave suspense behind. It’s your choice. You choose.

LET’S PRAY: Heavenly God, thank You for giving us assurance of Your return. Help us to find joy in working for Your kingdom and in the waiting for Jesus to come back, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray.

by Debbie Veilleux Copyright 2023 You have my permission to reblog this devotional for others. Please keep my name with this devotional, as author. Thank you.

[richardangulo]

Thanksgiving Day

One Walk with Jesus…Pray Psalm 145 with your family at dinner tonight. #OneWalkwithJesus Praise and worship… Psalm 145 Poor Bishop Hooper https://music.apple.com/us/album/psalm-145/1641093443?i=1641093444 Today’s verse… 
In all circumstances, give thanks,
 for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1thessalonians/5?18) Today’s…

[parables-proverbs-pericopes]

So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you’ll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you’re already doing this; just keep on doing it. 1Thessalonians 5:11 (The Message)

I need to speak some encouraging words this morning.

I have reason to do so.

You do such encouraging things!

The other day a friend reached out to me on behalf of one of her friends. That single mom was facing eviction from her apartment. I don’t know the details but I do know that Thanksgiving is a tough holiday to face with your son when you are unhoused. I asked Suzanne, Cindy, and Marie if The Gatherings could cover the arrears on the apartment to which they quickly agreed. It wasn’t that much in terms of money. It was life changing in terms of tears of gratitude that strangers care and love.

My friend needed to come home from Haiti for a season of healing. The reasons are several and profound but the window for pulling it off was narrow. She had to book a ticket through a round about route with an exorbitant price involved. This cost wasn’t covered by the budget of the institution that sponsors her. I asked the 100 people in a Facebook group I manage if they might feel the call to help out. $1,460. It was in hand in six hours.

A couple of weeks ago a friend who pastors an extremely remote, extremely poor church in the mountains of Haiti got in touch with me. He manages a school as a part of the ministry there. It is a very good school with very few resources. The children in Haiti suffer from insecurity, poverty, and lack of hope on a scale that I couldn’t communicate in 10 books. It is bad. He thought a little music would help them know some joy and smile a minute. We agreed to see if I could come up with some recorders (flutes) for the children to enjoy. I was thinking maybe 20. So I asked my friends to maybe purchase one or two for these children. Today I shipped not 20, but 139, instruments to Haiti!

We have been in a 10 months campaign to build a worship facility/community center for the same community in which the flutes will soon sound. We got ready for the roof and needed $20,000 to get the lid on the building. I was distracted and even less efficient than normal but we wired $7,500 of this total last week. I guess I had decided Easter would be a good day to get this done. But no. A friend in a church in Iowa, of all places, told me her congregation is covering the balance of the cost for the roof. I didn’t even know they knew where the project existed! Easter is what it is but What a Christmas gift!!

Rachel is 7 years old. She is a patient with a difficult leukemia at MD Anderson Hospital in Houston, TX but her family resides in Rogersville, AL. They lease an apartment in Houston and various family members (translate that as Grandmothers) travel there to help comfort, care, and love. My friends here are making regular donations to help defray the costs of all those trips to Houston. They do so because we are all on a one way trip best enjoyed by holding hands and praying and loving one another.

All of this, and more, in the last two weeks.

And there is much more.

But I have one more vignette. Last Tuesday Trish brought several angel tree “tags” to The Gathering. I suppose you know how that works…a child lists her “needs” and his “wants” for Christmas gifts. These are children unlikely to get much, if anything, without angels helping angels. I announced the opportunity as the service commenced and invited folks to see Trish after the service. I noticed that, at the conclusion of things, Trish seemed especially popular. I asked her if things went ok. “Oh yes!”

And that’s the story I have to tell. I could easily get down reading about the antics of the powerful and popular. I could get depressed about the discouraging ways folks are interacting “out there.”

But if I look a little closer I find an encouraging word is being spoken. It is a thunderous whisper that will put some pep in your step, light the path you tread, and map the path you need to follow.

And it will put an encouraging word on the Angel Tree.

You know what I mean?

Padre