Kept By The Power Of God

I finally completed my Bible Study on 1 Peter.  This study changed my life in a huge way. It is a type of Journal but laid out in a study format.  Many people inspired me to do this.  Most of all was my nephew who was incarcerated at the time.  His life didn't end up where he thought it would and while in prison he remembered God and began studying the Bible with other inmates.  As I was journaling I would send my thoughts to him.  He shared them with the others and looked forward to getting the lessons from me.  They meant a lot to him. 

My mom also helped me with the format and my Bible Study group went through the study with me to help edit and gave valuable comments.  God really lead through this whole process.  The format is in a daily study with places to write your thoughts and answers to questions.  There are note pages and places to write prayer requests and answers to prayer.  There are also questions at the end of each weeks study to help facilitate discussion in small groups. It is spiral bound so that it lays flat for easy writing.

After I wrote this I faced a huge issue with my husband going through a severe illness and almost losing him.  He went through surgery and it took time for him to recover.  Without this study I would not have been prepared to go through this trial. I first called it Practical Christianity because the things that I was learning were practical things that I applied to my life.  But I changed the name to "Kept By The Power Of God" because I was sustained through the storm purely by God's loving grace and power.

If you would like a copy of this study it is $20.00 and that includes shipping.  After the first 100 are sold then shipping will be added, so get in on this great deal.  I will sign your copy for you.  I hope that you will gain a blessing from going through this study as much or more than I.  I will pray for each individual that orders as well.

Send your request with check or money order to : Susanne Kanen, 106 Willowcreek Place, Alamosa, CO   81101. You can call if you have questions 719-480-1629.  Be sure to include the address that you want the study shipped to.

Yours in Christ.

Sue

Learning to Love Like God

I opened the paper this morning and two stories popped out at me.  "Former Alamosa resident beaten to death in prison."  A couple of years ago Don went to La Puente, the homeless shelter in town, to see if there was anyone in need of help.  James was there and told Don he needed help.  He had a family and he needed money for food and clothes.  So Don gave him work around the house.

James did a terrible job painting our deck, splattering the house and anything that was not moved off the deck.  But Don paid him.  This started a wave of "work" and needs.  Don bought him food, and clothes for the kids.  James always showed up needing money for this or that. Come to find out later James was taking the receipts and the stuff and returning them for the money which he used to buy drugs.  He used every trick in the book. 

Don talked to him about being honest and finally cut off the work and money supply.  James was arrested for forgery.  He had posted bail and during that time came to the office looking for another hand out.  While no one was looking he stole a purse belonging to one of our employees.  He was caught of course.  He was sentenced to jail at the community jail, a minimum security facility.  Not long after he escaped and was caught adding more time to his sentence. While in jail he was murdered, beaten to death by a fellow inmate.

The second story, also on the front page, was about a 33 year old woman who was arrested again after not fulfilling her conditions of a previous arrest for drug possession and distribution.  She had also come to us for money when she wanted to move her boyfriend down to the valley and for other things.  We helped sometimes but not always, like in the boyfriend case.  We know this woman's mother who is a Godly person. We have prayed hard for this her and she just kept getting deeper and deeper in to the bottomless pit.  Her mother is in anguish and is now taking care of her grand daughter while her mommy is in prison. "I thought I would never be in this position at this time in my life. I have to depend on the Lord and trust him to provide."  My heart breaks for her.

Several years ago there was a family that came to our church.  They were poor, very poor.  But they knew how to work the system, use their children to beg, and lie to the members to get money so they could go do what they wanted.  They lived way out in the country in a trailer and drove broken down vehicles.  Their children were always dirty.  We tried to help them because scripture says to help the poor.  We had baby showers for her when  her babies were born.  We repaired their vehicles, bought them food, gave them money for gas and medicine (which got used on spending sprees at Walmart).  They attached themselves to the older folks on fixed incomes and used their children to win sympathy and get money.  They abused everyone in the church.

Don and I finally took them out to dinner and told them that they had to follow certain conditions like finding work, nor more lying about what they were doing, and take care to make better choices.  The money flow was now being turned off until they fulfilled those conditions.  They left the church and went to a nearby church and started in on them.  Finally one of the family members moved to to the western slope with her husband.  After getting into trouble by trying to blow someone up she was put into jail and her children were left with grandma.  She served her time.  During this time our church sent her pictures of her kids and letters of encouragement.  After all we did this family never changed their ways.  They remain the same and those little babies are learning how to be just like them.

Don is a giving person.  People find out he is a soft touch and they start taking advantage of him.  His response is "God asks us to take care of them. What they do is their problem."  But he has changed his mind after dealing with those who refuse to change their ways.  2 Thess. 3:9-11 says, "For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies."


There are always going to be those who take advantage and walk away never looking back.  They will remain in the pit because they choose to be there.  More often than not it seems these are the kind of people we end up meeting in our lives.  But there are those few who really do want help and are appreciative of it.  They work hard and try hard.  They may not have the intellect to do better than they do or their situation may have placed them in hardship.  We have met those too.  Our hearts break for them and it's a blessing to help them.

James 1:27 states, "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world."

Isaiah 58:6-7 also directs us on how we should help. "6 “ Is this not the fast that I have chosen:


To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh?

We have had very personal wounds ripped into our hearts by at least one person who took our presious gifts and abused and destroyed and walked away to live another life that may end up bruising and destroying others.  We didn't realize that this was a pattern before we met until after they left. 

Only by following scripture and listening to God's comfort and direction was I able to get through this very personal heart wrenching, gut tearing experience and still be able to say that I still love this person in spite of everything.  They never even asked for forgiveness or tried to repair the relationship.  It is only by the grace of God that my heart can be softened and not hardened.  Luke 23:34 says how Christ dealt with those who sinned against Him.  He said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do."
Those who sinned against Christ didn't ask for forgiveness.  I don't think they even knew He asked the Father to forgive them.  It doesn't matter.  What matters is that God loved them.  He died for them because He loved them so much.  This is the power of God. 

And so we will keep on helping, caring for, and letting others into our hearts even though we grieve over their decision to walk away unchanged.  I look forward to heaven when all will be washed clean and we won't have to deal with whatever suffering there is to face in this world. But until then we will learn from our experiences so we can know how to help those in need better.  God is gracious and pours out his blessings on the righteous and the wicked.  We should follow in His steps and do the same. This is learning to love like God.

God's Eyes

A month ago my husband began experiencing a terrible illness.  You can read about it on Gamma Susie's This n That blog. Just click on the link on this blog.  Going through this with him has done several things for me.

1.  It has shown me how to put into practice the kindness that I wrote about earlier in this blog.  God was preparing me for this time when He knew I would need ultimate patience with my husband who was suffering so much and needed me to understand and be helpful. This wasn't easy as one day he was fine and the next day totally helpless and dependent on me.  It wasn't easy for him either because he wants to be in control of his surroundings and now he had no control.  Frustration set in.  But God was also working on him and he realized that he also needed to trust God and not himself to get through this.  He prayed for a change of heart and kindness also.  Together we are able to get through it.

2.  God opened my eyes to the suffering around me.  A member in our church was having a mastectomy. She had been suffering from cancer for awhile now and I didn't realize the extend of her suffering until she asked about Don.  After I told her I asked how she was doing and she told me.  My heart ached for her and I began to really pray for her.  I hadn't done that before.

When I drove Don to the hospital in Denver and got him situated I went out to the car which was parked by the ER entrance.  Two women sat on the bench out front. One was on the phone and the other was panic stricken.  She was sobbing and asked, "Does this mean he is going to die?" The other woman nodded.  A shriek of despair accompanied with the words, "Oh God!" were uttered.  My heart broke for her and I prayed for her as I walked to my car.  I wouldn't have done that before either.  I would have just kept walking worried about my own situation.

Up on the hospital wing where Don was I noticed in several rooms patients with no hair, some vomiting, others laying quietly hooked up to their IV poles which delivered the "treatment" for cancer.  I realized there was so much suffering on this wing.  This is where they put the patients that were "seriously" ill.  Though Don was suffering they were suffering too and some much more.  Their outcomes were not as good as Dons.  I prayed for them.

God was opening my eyes and giving me the tender heart I asked for.  He helped me realize that He is the Good Shepherd and I am His eyes.  I need to open them for Him and pray and talk with Him about it.  I heard that scientific studies have been done regarding the healing of those who are ill.  Those who were prayed for whether they knew it or not healed faster then those who were not prayed for.  Got reminded me of this study and gently nudged me to pray for these dear children of His.

The Apostle Paul prayed for others.  His prayer in Ephesians 1:15-19 is a beautiful prayer and I encourage you to read it.  But if you don't know what to pray for tell it to God.  Romans 8:26 says, "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." So I don't have to worry.  God knows my heart and gives me the will to at least pray for others.  His Spirit will help me with the rest. 

I pray for you as you read this that your heart will be touched to pray for me and for others.  Pray that God opens your eyes and helps you look through them to see the suffering around you.  Then ask for the desire and will to pray for those who are in need.

Practical Christianity

I have just completed a 10 week Bible Study on 1 Peter.  It is a Life Journal of the book put into daily and weekly format.  It is now in the process of going through a test group beginning this Sunday, March 16.  This will involve my study group to actually go through the study and make comments and editing changes. 

I am excited about doing this.  I learned so much from this journey.  I will let you know soon why I did it.  Stay tuned!

Kindness

I wrote on facebook a question for the readers to ponder.  "Kindness.  What does it mean to you?"  There was a variety of responses.  All good, but dealing with something we do.  And yes, we do acts of kindness.  But are those acts of kindness done because we choose to do them at certain times?  Is there a motive behind them that is selfish based?

I would like to put it to you to consider kindness as a condition of the heart. In Ephesians 4:32 Paul tells us to "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." In my acceptance of God's forgiveness towards me I want my heart to become changed, like His.  He leads me to an understanding of what He wants me to be, not just do. 

Ezekiel 11:19 states what God will do for me.  "Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, so that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God."


Once God has given me my new heart I will be able to do His will and bear the fruit of the new heart possessed by the Spirit of God that is "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." (Galatians 5:22,23) Because of this condition of my new heart I can fulfill the law (statutes and judgment ), "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it; You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

I don't want kindness to simply be something I do.  I want it to be a condition of my heart so that when people encounter me they see God's natural kindness in my heart that "God may be glorified."

When Little Ones Pray

It was wonderful today when I was feeding my 13 month old grandson his lunch when he folded his hands and babbled a prayer.  He only has a couple of words in his vocabulary, but I knew when I said, "Do you want to talk to Jesus?" that is exactly what he was doing.  Before each bite he would fold his hands and look at me.  I praised him for praying and we prayed, "Dear Jesus, thank you for this food.  We love you. Amen." 

I wonder if God gets excited about us like I did about my boys when they learned to pray. 

Ephesians 5:1, 2 says, "Therefore be imitators of God as dear children."  How do I do this? "And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling aroma." Christ was my example here on earth.  He showed me how to imitate Him for the joy of the Father.  I can imagine Him saying with excitment, "Look, she is imitating me!" Then comes the pleasing laughter of a parent who is satisfied with His child.

God's Awesome Answer to Prayer

I am totally blown away by God.  He has such cool plans and puts them into action before I even know what is going on.  Then when the time is right He opens the gift box.  Out of it bursts and explosion of wonder and awe that I can hardly contain myself at His wonderful greatness and how He showers me with it. 

Pastor Jim started a prayer meeting on Wednesday evenings.  Last night was our second one.  He started it because he went to a prayer conference in Ashville NC and came back impressed that we needed to begin a prayer ministry in our town.  Last night we had a wonderful prayer time and laid ourselves open and repentant before God.  We put our church school on the alter of prayer and asked God to bless it because our finances were drying up and we needed money to keep going.

This morning at 7:20 I received a call from Pastor Jim.  He wanted me to put the speaker on so that he only had to tell this story once.  He was weeping.  He related how he had met a man "David" on the airplane when he went to the prayer conference.  This man developed some equipment or software for Emergency Care facilities and was the founder of his company.  Jim apparently shared with him that he was a pastor, about some of the things he was doing in his home church, and that he was going to this conference.  They parted when the plane landed and Jim thought probably would never see or speak to David again.

This morning when Jim was in his morning visit with God he prayed for the school again and felt impressed to get in touch with David.  Now our pastor literally hates fund raising with a passion.  He hates to even ask his church to give.  But he felt the "noose" around his heart pulling him to call David so with trepidation he made the call.  Unbelievably David was just coming out of a meeting and took Jim's call.  Jim apologized for what he was about to ask but felt moved by the Spirit to make the call.  David answered with, "Why are you afraid to ask.  You deprive people of the blessing of giving." This response amazed Jim.  He didn't expect it at all. Breathing a prayer for help on how to present this Jim explained about our school and our program. David was so moved he donated $1,000.  Jim was floored.  He couldn't believe how God had set this up and how God provided.  He broke down and cried.

Jim got on the phone and called us. What an explosion of encouragement.  What a faith builder.  I had often wondered how God was going to make this school work.  This event let me know that what we are doing to keep our school open and vibrant to provide Christian education to the San Luis Valley is absolutely the right thing because it is God's thing.  We are just His instruments through whom He gets His work accomplished.

If you feel impressed to give to our school our goal is $10,000 this year.  But maybe we shouldn't have put a limit.  We feel the need to build a new school building, but we must do this in God's time.  We want our school to grow and it is.  God has blessed it for many years.  You may make your donation to

Sunshine Christian School

315 Craft Drive

Alamosa, CO   81101

If you have questions please call 719-589-2557 and our teacher will direct you to the best resource.  If you can't give, pray.  As you can see prayer is HUGE!!!! And God's answers are even BIGGER!