Week Twelve, 2025
Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.(Psalm 82:4).
It was my first mission trip and one behind the Iron Curtain before it came down. We arrived in Zagreb, Yugoslavia late at night where we were scheduled to spend the night with a local pastor. We entered the home and were treated as welcomed guests. Then there was a knock at the door.
The police had arrived and told the pastor that he was not allowed to have guests in his home. The three of us were escorted to the sidewalk with our luggage. It was dark, and we were homeless and cold.
While we were thinking we were going to spend the night on the street, the pastor was working and finally found a hotel that charged an exorbitant rate where we were able to spend the night. It was not only a surreal experience, but an education of what it is like to live in a communist country.
We could do nothing but pray and pray we did. It was just the beginning of a three-country mission in communist countries. We had many scary experiences, and we prayed. I remember one night in Poland when I stood before an audience in a church in Poland giving my testimony when officers carrying machine guns walked in. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I prayed.
Prayer is a power of our faith, connecting us with our maker and the line is never busy and we are never out of range. Prayer is communication with God. We do this by praising Him, confessing our sin before Him, thanking Him and asking Him for our needs and desires. Prayer is communion with our Creator. When we pray, we engage in loving fellowship with the Maker of heaven and earth.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7) “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24)
Where we were, access to freedom had been cut off, but access to God is never cut off whether in a communist country or around our home dining table. The Prayer Hand is an easy way to remember five essential aspects of prayer: confession, petition, intercession, thanksgiving and praise. Use The Prayer Hand resource to walk through each of these five purposes.
No matter what we face, God is always there, so we should spend each day in prayer as we look upward more than we look outward.
Sometimes True Stories
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” (Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT)
What keeps us from trusting the Lord with all our hearts? Could it be doubt? One definition I recently came across defines: “Doubt as the lack of confidence or assurance that God will keep his promises.” Doubt is contagious and it is much easier to find doubters than people of faith. It is critical we have faith and trust God even when His plan goes against human reason or experience. It is a short journey from doubt to despair. Faith is an attitude of acceptance as described in Jeremiah 32:27, “I am the Lord, the God of all people of the world. Is anything too hard for me?” Seek His will in all you do, trust in the Lord and He will remove the doubt. Tony Ferguson
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Many of our young generation are graduating with degree’s that appear to have no useful purpose and yet they seem to think they are going to start in managerial positions right out of college. Sadly, they are setting themselves up for a life of frustration and despair. True lasting success is almost always tied to diligence and hard work. The old saying, “if at first you don’t succeed, try and try again”. Never let a lack of effort be a contributing factor in failure. Tony Ferguson
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An estimated 1 million Americans are expected to develop dementia annually by 2060—roughly double today’s numbers—researchers said in a Jan. 13 report, adding that the risk of developing the neurological condition may be higher than previously thought.
The researchers’ study, published in Nature, found a higher lifetime risk than previously thought: After age 55, people have up to a four in 10 chance of eventually developing dementia if they live long enough.
Previous studies estimated that about 14 percent of men and 23 percent of women would develop some form of dementia in their lifetime. The new study evaluated updated data and tracked the heart health and cognitive function of about 15,000 older adults over several decades.
“All of our research suggests what you do in midlife really matters,” Dr. Josef Coresh of New York University’s Langone Health, who co-authored the study, said.
The latest findings show that Americans’ risk of developing some form of dementia after age 55 stands at 42 percent, more than double the risk reported in older studies. The lifetime risk of developing dementia rises to more than 50 percent among those who reach age 75, the researchers found.
They also noted that the increase in cases is directly tied to the aging U.S. population.
“That dementia risk translates into an estimated half-million cases this year, rising to a million new cases a year by 2060,” researchers said in a New York University statement.
Quotes You Can Use
God has made only one provision for your safety when the day of judgment comes, and this is in Jesus Christ. Dan Shock
“The God who made the world . . . does not live in temples made by man” (Acts 17:24). His transforming presence is as close as your next prayer. Jim Denison
The Bible doesn’t promise us happiness if we become followers of Jesus. As much as we would like for it too, it just doesn’t. However, it does talk a lot about joy and reminds us to be joyful always and in all things. Marty Stubblefield
In the day of prosperity, adversity is forgotten, and in the day of adversity, prosperity is not remembered.
Everyone says forgiveness is a good idea, until they have something to forgive and then the whining starts. Tony Ferguson
I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear. Martin Luther King, Jr.
No matter how hard we work or how much success we’ve had in the past. We’re not promised that everything will turn up roses in every endeavor that we take on. We’re not promised that we will gain riches and wealth when we become followers of Christ. Marty Stubblefield
If God forsook His own Son because of sin, how can you ever expect God to be in fellowship with you as long as you have sin permeating your life? Dan Shock
Restoring a culture of respect for the sacredness of life is fundamental to solving our country’s most pressing problems. When each person is treated as a beloved child of God, individuals can reach their full potential, communities will flourish, and America will be a place of even greater hope and freedom. Jim Denison
So, the pie isn’t perfect? Cut it into wedges. Stay in control and never panic. Martha Stewart
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