Touching Lives

Melissa was a woman on a mission!  At just 19, she knew she had only weeks left to live on this earth.  Cancer was moving quickly through her body, and she was determined to bring her close friends closer to Christ.  She gave them booklets, talked with them, and prayed continuously. Little did she know that her prayers of faith, hope and thanksgiving would touch thousands of lives after she entered heaven!  The secret prayer journal she kept at her bedside, her unveiled conversations with God, became a beacon of hope and instrument of faith development for people of all ages in the years that followed. Melissa’s Prayer Journal*** continues to illustrate a perfect example of what social scientists have coined “positive religious coping”, and continues to touch lives for Christ.

            We never know what daily practices, conversations, or even our blogs might be as an instrument in the hands of God in times to come.  We do know that as we follow closely the footsteps of our Lord, our ministry will be all that it was meant to be, touching lives. 

**** Melissa's Prayer Journal  is available at:

http://www.MBMpublishers.com *********

Inspiration

Sometimes I sense God's inspiration in helping me write or say just the right thing!  I can feel the Lord giving me the words, the message, and the voice tone to meet the needs of those around me.  Such a fabulous feeling!  Thanks to today's daily reflection,  I just learned that obedience is far more important than perceived inspiration!  Even when I have an "off" day, when I am not my best, when my emotional tank feels empty, I need to continue to meet the needs of those around me.  Even when my best at that moment is far from my best ever, I need to keep moving and trust God to use whatever imperfect effort I am capable of for that moment.  What a relief to be reminded that the Lord will use my most flawed attempt, as long as I am following His lead!  Melissa didn't worry about performance with people.  She just prayed for God to use her and loved those around her!  That's the plan: stay connected to the Lord, connected to others, and follow Christ.  Thank you, Lord, that your power is so much greater than my imperfection!   Have a great day and stay connected. ~ JBM

Little Things

I so often take God's biggest gifts for granted: unconditional forgiveness, purpose to my life, and eternal life with Christ.  I have a much harder time trusting the Lord with my daily details.  I unconsciously feel little, petty needs are beneath God's dignity.  I avoid praying about daily concerns, feeling a bit ashamed that such superficial things are concerning me. I have often shared with other people Melissa's words: "God answers our needs with the little things, so we can trust him with the big things."  So I cognitively know I'm suppose to pray over trite concerns, but still feel pathetic doing it.  This week, God immediately answered my prayer for a special dress for a special occasion.  Now this is a really superficial concern, right?  But our Loving Lord made a point of rapidly giving me just the right dress in the perfect color to make a point: to show me how much He loves me.  After all these years of living with the Lord, I'm still learning to talk to Him about everything!  I hope you are, too.  Because there is so much of God's love for us to experience! Blessings on your day!~  JBM

Gratitude

In the middle of a prayer in which I asked God to give someone more gratitude, the Lord asked me a question (so typical!).  Was I asking this for my own benefit?  Did I want this person to be more grateful (although not to me) because I had something to gain?  Certainly, I was concerned that the generosity of this particular giver would dry up faster without proper acknowledgement, and I did most deeply desire what was best for the target of my prayers.  But when I stopped to think, I realized that gratitude is a gift to the person feeling it!  Our lives are transformed by focusing on the good, being grateful for the blessings, and not taking them for granted.  This changed my perspective.  I still think praying for gratitude for myself and others is right and good, not for the sake of the giver, but for the receiver!  For he who gives generously is already rewarded by their own good deeds and deep sense of being able to help others.  But the one who receives will be blessed 10 times more only when they recognize the blessing.  Melissa told God, "You are amazing!" Because she saw all the blessings in her day.  May we all have such eyes of faith to focus on every good gift from above!  Keep praying! ~ JBM