|
|
|
| xxx |
|
|
CONTENTS |
FULFILLMENT |
|
|
Hugs 'N Tugs By |
"My words . . . which shall be fulfilled in their seasons" "Not one word hath failed of all He hath promised—all came to pass." Fulfillment! Fulfillment! Fulfillment |
|
|
|
||
YOUR SHEPHERD |
|
| Who is it that is your shepherd? The Lord! Oh, my friends, what a wonderful announcement! The Lord God of heaven and earth,  the
almighty Creator of all things, He who holds the universe in His hand as
though it were a very little thing—He is your shepherd, and has charged
Himself with the care and keeping of you, as a shepherd is charged with
the care and keeping of his sheep. If your hearts could really take in
this thought, you would never have a fear or a care again; for with such a
shepherd, how could it be possible for you ever to want any good
thing?  |
|
|
—Author Unknown |
|
|
|
|
|
|
HUGS 'N TUGS |
|
By Wendy Greiner Lefko |
|
|
 offering only mushy substitutes such as yogurt and pudding, she
couldn’t understand. Even ice cream wasn’t tempting enough to deter
her from craving her normal fare. The look in her eyes said, "Why won’t
my mommy give me what she normally does? I have these things all the time!
Why am I being told ‘No’ now?" My explanation of the need for
proper healing and the potential for damage meant nothing to her young
mind. To her, her requests were perfectly reasonable, just simple needs to
be met. But I had knowledge she couldn’t grasp, knowledge that prevented
me from giving her what she wanted. I loved her dearly and had her best
interest at heart. That meant not meeting her needs in the way she had
come to expect.
What a lesson God taught me those days! How many times have I expected God to meet my needs in a way I thought He should? How many times have I questioned God when I thought He wasn’t supplying my needs in a manner I thought only reasonable? Human minds think on a human level, and we tend to expect God to deal with us in such a limited capacity. He may not answer our prayers in the way we expect, but that is only because He loves us completely and knows what is best for us with a knowledge far beyond our comprehension. In this new year, I pray I will learn to trust Him more, remembering that He will care for my needs even when I don’t understand. "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher that your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8,9). |
|
|
|
|
O Lord, give me what brings me to Thee; O Lord, take myself and give me Thyself. —Nicklaus of Fleuh
|
|
|
|
|
—Leslie D. Weatherhead
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
By Rev. Larry W. Greiner |
|
|
This month’s Lifeline is of a personal nature concerning my dear wife Sharon and myself that we wanted to share with our FCI Family at this time. We now are enjoying our 18th year of marriage. Through those years, the Lord has chosen not to give us any children even though we longed to have them. During that time, however, the Lord was teaching us what the Apostle Paul had learned when he wrote: "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, there with to be content"(Philippians 4:11). Our commitment as a couple has always been to "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you" ( Matthew 6:33). We had chosen to wait upon the Lord and leave the childlessness in His Almighty hands. If His perfect will meant not having children, then blessed be the name of the Lord. "As for God, His way is perfect." He could give us a child if He wanted to. All things are under His control and He has given us the grace these many years to continue on with joy, serving our Lord and Savior. Now we have an incredible miracle to share with you.
Sharon has entered her fourth month of pregnancy! I am 46 years old (just
call me Abraham Jr.), Sharon is 39 years old and after "This is the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in our eyes". We want to wish all of you a very Happy New Year with the Lord’s wonderful blessing. In His Love and Joy, " Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee;
and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee…"
(Jeremiah 1:5).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
His grace is sufficient – I’ve found it to be The gift I most treasure When dark clouds I see. Each moment holds grace In light of His love; His way becomes clearer With strength from above. His wisdom astounds me As I seek His face, With hope for tomorrow Sufficient, His grace! —Thelma Weinhardt |
|
|
|
THE OPEN GATE |
|
|
—Henry Van Dyke |
|
|
|
GOD’S SAND IS GOLD |
|
|
If one should give me a dish of sand, and tell me there were particles of iron in it, I might look for them with my eyes, and search for them with my clumsy fingers, and be unable to detect them; but let me take a magnet and sweep through it, and how it would draw to itself the almost invisible particles by the mere power of attraction. —The unthankful heart, like my finger in the sand, discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day, and as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings, only the iron in God’s sand is gold! —Henry Ward Beecher |
|
waiting 18 years
the Lord, according to His mercy and grace, has chosen to give us that
special gift of precious life. At her age, Sharon has been placed in the
"high risk" category. The first three months we had a few scares
but every time we went for the ultra sound the doctor would say the baby
has a very strong heart beat and everything is perfect at this time. You
can imagine the joy we experienced when we first found out. To God be the
glory! Sharon has had extreme morning sickness symptoms these first three
months, but is now starting to feel quite a bit better. We would covet
your prayers concerning Sharon and the baby’s health the rest of the
way, the due date being June 23, 2002.