Year: 2014

A New Day is Dawning

Barbara Kain Parker Biblical Insights, Inspirational, Personal Testimony , , , , , , , , , ,

023 copy

Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?  I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.        Isaiah 43:18-19 ESV

Never has the fulfillment of these words felt as imminent to me as it does now.  My sense that our God is on the move was enhanced a few nights ago when, after confronting evil all night both while awake and in my dreams, I finally fell into a restful sleep and dreamed of righteous change. When I awoke, I knew deeply within my spirit that whatever is on the horizon is a move of God that cannot be claimed or labeled by any ministry, denomination or other group.  He simply cannot be contained!

Much that I see in the physical realm is confirming my sense of the spiritual, as indicated in God is On the Move in Southern California and I Had a Dream of the Triumphant Church.  In my own life and ministry, change is in the air, with new opportunities beginning to appear on my horizon after several years of pulling back and waiting on the Lord.

So, with only 3 weeks until 2015 arrives, I’ve begun preparing for whatever the Lord choses to bring during the new year.  The first change I’ve made is to make my first three books, Pug Parables, I’m Still Standing and Richard’s Story available as free downloads.  Secondly, I’ve updated my blog site to become my ministry website as well, and it has a whole new look.  Within the first few weeks of January my old domain of http://www.standinginfaith.org will be directed to this site, http://standinginfaithministries.com

Certainly, we live in a time that confirms the truth of Jesus’ words in Luke 21.  Men’s hearts are failing them for fear because of all we see occurring in our tumultuous world with wars, commotions, hatred, persecution, and natural disasters surrounding us.  Yet His encouragement to seek Him first stands.

And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. Luke 21:28 KJV

BoBo

Barbara Kain Parker Inspirational

Standing in Faith Ministries

28585-20141206

The guy was a glutton for punishment.  It didn’t seem to matter how many times he was knocked down—he just kept coming back for more, each time with a big, silly grin on his face.  But it was the way he was designed—his name was BoBo and he was the inflatable bop-bag clown that my son loved to trounce.

As I struggled through the maze of breast cancer, I could relate to BoBo for it felt like every time I’d manage to get up I’d be knocked off my feet again—first it was the diagnosis; then two surgeries instead of one; then a full, thirty-five day course of radiation instead of the one-week short version; then chemotherapy that nobody initially thought was necessary; then not just one but two rounds of chemo; then my mother’s strokes in the midst of everything else; then my husband’s open heart surgery sandwiched in…

View original post 942 more words

Is All Hope Gone?

Barbara Kain Parker Biblical Insights, Devotional, Inspirational , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

IMG_1526He’s up well before dawn, already glued to his display of computer monitors.  Hour after hour after hour, he watches; analyzing every dip or gain on his screens; debating with himself the best course of action; celebrating or mourning his bottom line.  His whole life depends on how well he can play the game—the new home, the Lexus in the driveway, the kids’ private schools—all potentially gone in an instant.  He recalls the stories his dad told him of Black Tuesday, that terrible day in 1929 when the stock market crashed and people were literally jumping out of windows to their death.  What if it happens again?  What if he loses everything?

She stares intently into the mirror.  Is that little line a new wrinkle?  Better make an appointment for some more Botox.  Sure is a good thing she’s got great hair—oh, but wait; is that a strand of gray?  Breakfast is on the run with the latest high nutrition/low-calorie energy drink in hand, and she’s off to the gym to run and climb and lift and push and pull.  By the time she’s finished, every muscle in her body will have had a workout, and every ounce of fat will have been burned away.  Her career depends on looking great, no matter how hard the advancing years are pressing in; and she so stressed out by it all that somewhere in the week she really must make some time to see her therapist.

And so goes life for many people; perhaps in ways not as obvious as the illustrations above, but still jam-packed with worry and stress about jobs, family, education, health, the economy, world affairs.  Gone are the legendary ‘good old days’ when life was beautiful all the time.  Hope has disappeared, and the future looks bleak.  Just turn on the news if you think otherwise.  Right?

Wrong!!!

Hopelessness, discouragement, depression, fear; all of them are nothing less than smokescreens designed to keep mankind from seeing the truth that there is light at the end of the tunnel.  God’s light, and His words of love prove it better than anything I could ever say…

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright. Psalm 20:7-8

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”   Lamentations 3:22-24

I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. Psalm 16:8-9

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Psalm 46:1-3

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.  John 1:5

Exploring Heavenly Places, Volume 1

Barbara Kain Parker Announcement, Aslan's Place, Barbara Parker, Biblical Insights, Book Release, Exploring Heavenly Places, God Encounters of the Supernatural Kind, Healing, Inspirational, Paul Cox

Heavenly Realms v01 Cov#649-2

About four years ago, God began speaking to Paul Cox and myself about writing a book together; and it’s been such a start-and-stop process that many, including us, have wondered if it would ever actually happen.  Well, it finally did happen, and we’re very excited to announce that it has been released.  Interestingly, as God has developed the project, it has become the first of a series that the Lord seems to have placed on a fast track.  Exploring Heavenly Places, Volume 2 has already been written by Paul L Cox and Rob Gross, and is in the final stages of editing, almost ready for printing.  Meanwhile, Volume 3 is in the works, and while we think we know what it will include, we are also very aware that God may change it up a bit.

 

A Significant Release of Healing

Several years ago the Lord gave us the revelation of the Depth, and told us that parts of us could be trapped in the ungodly depth.  David speaks of this many times in the book of Psalms.

Psalm 88:6-8: You have laid me in the lowest pit, In darkness, in the depths. Your wrath lies heavy upon me, And You have afflicted me with all Your waves. You have put away my acquaintances far from me; you have made me an abomination to them; I am shut up, and I cannot get out.

Just after receiving the beginnings of the revelation of the Depth, we were conducting a school near Sydney, Australia.  A lady in her late 50’s started sharing that even though she had been a Christian for many decades, there was no joy in her life, and she had lost all hope.  I have heard this many times in my ministry.  Did we finally have a solution for her?

A prayer minister on our team met with the woman.  She led her through a prayer that God had recently led us to develop as a group, which would release us from the ungodly depth.  The next day, she shared that the Lord had done a wonderful miracle in her life and she was radically changed!

In Exploring Heavenly Places, Volume 1, Barbara Parker and I share the Biblical support for the understanding of the Depth.  The book also includes the Prayer to Release One from the Ungodly Depth.  I can honestly say that I have seen the Lord use this prayer in many wonderful ways, and it has proven to be a marvelous key in helping people to become free.

-Paul L. Cox

 

Exploring Heavenly Places, Volume 1 is available at http://aslansplace.3dcartstores.com/Exploring-Heavenly-Places-Volume-1_p_547.html

God is On the Move in Southern California!!!

Barbara Kain Parker Inspirational , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

God is on the move in Southern California!!!

Every day, we are seeing new evidence of His handiwork, the magnitude of which is so amazing that it’s difficult to describe;  but my friend, Paul L Cox of Aslan’s Place, has done a wonderful job of writing an introduction to what is happening.

The Harvest Has Begun

Something is happening in the High Desert of Southern California, and it looks and feels like the early rumblings of revival.

Some weeks ago, I was with a pastor-friend from Hesperia and he told me the Lord had directed him to start going witnessing door-to-door. He was surprised but obedient; and in awe, he reported that at every house that he visited the people not only received him but also received Christ as their Savior. I am also hearing of this kind of evangelism beginning in other places.

My wife, Donna, and I recently began attending Abundant Living Family Church in Hesperia, a multi-generational and multi-cultural church fellowship. I was wonderfully surprised to see that Mark Graham, the pastor, invites people to stand to receive Christ as Savior during each service, and many people respond each time. I have not seen this since the Jesus Movement in the late 60’s and 70’s, and now, 40 years after the height of the Jesus Movement in 1974, it is happening again!

When Donna and I moved up to the High Desert in 1994 we began receiving many prophetic words that there would be a great move of God here. One particular word said that cars would be backed up at the off ramps of Interstate 15 in the High Desert waiting in line to reach the locations where the tangible presence of God was located. We also met many individuals who told us that God had told them to move to the High Desert because a revival would be taking place.

During the following years, everywhere that I went in the world I would hear similar prophecies of revival coming. Often, during our local schools and seminars, words would also come indicating that that we should anticipate revival and an amazing influx of the power of God. During all these years, we have seen many wonderful moves of the Lord, but nothing as dramatic as what has been prophesied. While many of God’s moves were gracious renewals of Christians, included many magnificent healings, where was the great outpouring that would lead to thousands coming into the Kingdom?

On Pentecost of 2013, Kevin Basconi of King of Glory Ministries in Moravian Falls, NC was visiting with us. Two days prior, the Lord had spoken to us to call for a gathering at Aslan’s Place and I invited Kevin to join us. We certainly were not expecting what happened! At sundown, as Pentecost began, we started by simply waiting on the Lord. Suddenly, I felt like someone had grabbed the back of my head and was squeezing it like one would squeeze an orange. We asked the Lord what was happening and the Holy Spirit revealed that I was discerning God the Father as the Power.

Matthew 26:64 (NKJV) Jesus said to him [the High Priest], “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Suddenly I had an insight that I had never had before. Just before Pentecost the Lord promised His followers that the Holy Spirit would come upon them and they would receive Power. Could it be that what they received was the revelation of the Father as “The Power”? It is the revelation of the Father as “The Power” that is being released on the earth.

JThis Power is now releasing a move of God that will result in a billion souls coming into the Kingdom of God. Doug Addison wrote of this September 16, 2014.[1]

“Arthur Burt was a revivalist in the U.K. and was given a powerful prophetic word from God in 1934 entitled: And There Shall Be No Ebb. “It shall come as a breath and the breath shall bring the wind and the wind shall bring the rain. And there shall be floods and floods and floods and torrents and torrents and torrents. Souls shall be saved like falling leaves from mighty oaks swept by a hurricane. Arms and legs shall come down from Heaven. And there shall be no ebb.” Arthur died August 28, 2014 at 102 years old. Bob Jones had prophesied that Arthur would see his 1934 prophecy come to pass in his lifetime. This is the year of the release of Arthur Burt’s life-long prophetic word and Bob Jones’ word of one billion people coming into the Kingdom. Both of these great men went back to Heaven this year. The prophetic sign in Arthur’s death: he died at age 102 on 8/28. Psalm 102 is the cry to God to see Him move again. But 102:28 is a prophetic word for what is coming.”

And, Psalm 102:28 says, “The children of Your servants will continue,
And their descendants will be established before You.”

On January 7, 2007, I was with Patricia King and several others at a summit for the New Year. This was just after the Lord had given us the Prayer to Release the Living Stones at Aslan’s Place. I remember wondering at the airport what would happen to me. Even though I had pastored for 20 years, it seemed there was no longer a place for me in the institutional church. I said to the Lord, “I know where I have come from, but where am I going?” With this reflection in my mind, I heard Stacy Campbell deliver a profound word.

“There’s a great transformation going on in the Body of Christ in the globe. And the forms and the structures—they’re coming down from the old wineskin, and a new wineskin is being built, but it’s very hard to discern. But what is coming? The harvest that is coming is so big, it cannot be contained in one structure. And this is the key—the life is in the bricks. Living stones. They’re alive! They’re alive! They contain His Spirit! So the key is not to discern the form, but the key is to discern the brick. Who are you in God? But whenever you discern the stone, uh huh, uh huh, I see that stone! I know that stone–that’s an Apostolic stone. That’s a Prophet stone. That’s a healing stone! And you begin to let the old stones go with the young stones. The male stones go side-by-side with the female stones. When you discern the stones, you will put those living stones that contain life together with other living stones that contain life, and they will build a container for the times to house the presence of God.  It’s too small! It will NEVER be able to contain what God is about, to millions and millions and millions. Yea, a billion souls harvest that will need stone joined with stone, joined with stone united, and not divided!”

It is now 20 years since we came to the High Desert. Last Sunday, September 28, Pastor Mark Graham shared in church that the Lord told him the night before that revival had come to the High Desert. During that service, the Presence of God filled the room and the pastor walked up and down the aisle praying for people. The Lord’s Glory was obviously present. No sermon was given, and no offering was taken. At the end of the service Mark said the Lord had asked him to call for 14 days of prayer, meeting each night at 6:00pm. Last night, Monday, September 29, 2014, he handed out a call to prayer. He was clear that this was not about a pastor or a church, but about the Kingdom of God. It was time to seek the Face of God and not His Hand. It was time to ask Jesus to come and live in our midst. It was time to cry out that His will be done on earth as it is done in heaven.

Would you join in prayer with those of us in High Desert of Southern California that His Kingdom will come, not only here but also in your community? Consider the following list of prayer points from last night, and pray that:

  • Jesus and His message will return to the High Desert.
  • Salvations in the High Desert throughout all of the houses of worship will explode.
  • Biblical signs and wonders will increase dramatically, both in our families and the houses of worship.
  • Our corporate obedience will increase to Jesus.
  • Our personal obedience will increase to Jesus.
  • Our regional government will turn over and be filled with Spirit-led politicians.
  • America will be shielded from all terror, and that our hearts as a nation will return to Him.

2 Chronicles 7:14–16 (NKJV), “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place. For now I have chosen and sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.”

[1] Just in the month of September, 2014 the following articles contained reference to this new move:
– Rick Joyner: “The Full Manifestation of Jesus in Our Midst” September 28, 2014
– The Tsunami of Glory is Coming-Be There September 23, 2014
– Steve Scroggs: “The Signs of the Harvest! Can You See the Signs?”September 22, 2014
– Tim Sheets “The Alarm Clock of Heaven Is Now Ringing… Power to Prevail is Being Poured Out!” “My Shaking Has Come. I Am – Shaking Earth. I Am Shaking Heaven” “The Third Great Awakening Shall Now Advance in Tidal Waves of My Power” September 9, 2014

Ultimate Worth

Barbara Kain Parker Biblical Insights, Inspirational, Personal Testimony, Promotion , , , , , , ,

IMG_1422Out of curiosity, I googled self esteem, and in 0.38 seconds had 46,000,000 results. More articles, books, conferences, classes, and multi-media presentations advising us how to build positive esteem in ourselves and our children than one person could ever digest. I skimmed through the offerings of the first 10 pages of hits, and not one of them was biblically based, so I’d like to recommend an alternative and recommend the best book I’ve ever read about building self esteem from God’s perspective, Ultimate Worth, by my friend Russ Llewellyn, an amazing Christian who is also a clinical psychologist. In his words…

“God allows but one path to permanent worth: love through humility. We build our self-esteem only on the things which God values. We recognize that apart from God, any esteem we give ourselves will crumble and scatter like dust swept away by the winds of time.

Our ultimate worth, our self-esteem, comes through humility. In humility, we learn to receive all of our personal worth from God. We learn to love and worship God, as well as love and respect ourselves and others the way God does.

God made you out of spirit, the same essence as He is. He made you for a noble purpose, to be and live on earth as sons and daughters of the Most High. You have a birthright, a kingly inheritance from God alone—ultimate worth.”

Russ can be contacted for further information and/or to place an order at DrRussLlewellyn@aol.com

 

 

 

 

 

He Is My Destiny

Barbara Kain Parker Devotional, Inspirational, Personal Testimony , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

227062-20140710

Waiting to meet a friend for lunch, I enjoyed a blast from the past; all the way back to about 1960, as Vince Gill’s voice crooned throughout the restaurant, “I’ve been cheated, been mistreated.  When will I be loved?  I’ve been put down, I’ve been pushed ’round.  When will I be loved?”

In those days I was just a child, glued to a black and white TV screen as the Everly Brothers performed their big hit on American Bandstand.  How could I know the sad truth that echoes behind those lyrics?  The sad truth that has probably been one reason the song has endured over the years; recorded and/or performed not only by Vince Gill, but also by Linda Ronstadt and a host of other artists.  The sad truth that life is hard had not yet become a reality to me.  Little did I know that I would soon grow to understand all too well the feeling of being cheated or mistreated; a feeling with which almost everyone can relate.  How could I know that the burning question in the broken hearts of mankind is indeed, “When will I be loved?”

King David certainly understood such pain. In Psalm 55 he moaned…

My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen upon me.

Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me…

For it is not an enemy who taunts me—then I could bear it; 
it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me—then I could hide from him.

But it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend.

Pondering the significance of the song while driving home from lunch, I was talking to the Lord about how we usually handle such things.  Immediately I heard the lyrics of another familiar song in my spirit; “You’re looking for love in all the wrong places.”  Another sad truth!  Books could be written—and have been, I’m sure—chronicling the mistakes people have made while searching for a love to fill the void of hurt and despair that was left behind by violations of trust and broken confidences.

Once again, we can look to King David…

Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you;
he will never permit
the righteous to be moved…You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle.
 Are they not in your book?Then my enemies will turn back
 in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me.In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise,in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.  What can man do to me…For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.  Psalm 55:22, 56:8-11, 57:10

When we encounter the love of God, the same love that David experienced, we too will praise Him, and we can then sing another enduring song from the 60s…

I will follow him, follow him wherever he may go

There isn’t an ocean too deep

A mountain so high it can keep me away

I must follow him

Ever since he touched my hand I knew

That near him I always must be

And nothing can keep him from me

He is my destiny

 

I Had a Dream of the Triumphant Church

Barbara Kain Parker Biblical Insights, Inspirational , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

 

1235894_229713213849201_712210528_n

Echoing in my mind as I awoke a few days ago were the words made famous by Martin Luther King, “I had a dream;” and for the night that had just transpired, that was one of the biggest understatements imaginable. It had been an amazing experience as one dream segment flowed into another, and then another—waking often for a brief moment, only to quickly fall back to sleep for a continuation of the sequence. When morning finally arrived I knew I needed to write as much of it down as possible, but already the scenes were quickly fading.

In a dream, in a vision of the night, When deep sleep falls upon men, While slumbering on their beds, Then He opens the ears of men, And seals their instruction. Job 33:15-16

Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms. Psalm 73:20

What remained was the sure and certain knowledge that I had just witnessed the glory of the LORD being released among His people in a way that we perhaps have never seen since the first Pentecost; since that day when Jesus’ followers who had obediently waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit finally received Him.

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:1-4

Failing to recall all of the specifics, yet still reeling from the weighty presence of God throughout the night, I wrote the little that I could recall in my journal; and yet I knew that in one of my waking moments a familiar song had been resounding in my spirit, a song I knew I wouldn’t forget; but I did. So I asked the LORD to remind me if it was important and, to be quite honest, I didn’t really expect Him to do it. But i immediately remembered the Gaither’s incredible song, The Church Triumphant. Please, please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtCV_ysZC04 to listen and be blessed by the song, and join with me to rejoice that God’s Church is indeed alive and well.

In recent times, many of us have focused much attention on terrible circumstances—the terrible state of the world, the terrible state of the economy, the terrible state of our families or relationships, the terrible state of the modern-day church that has so compromised itself with the world. And indeed, the terrible truth of Romans 2:18-34 is everywhere we look.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

I would now contend that it’s time for the Church to change its focus. The evil all around us is only going to increase until the Day of the Lord, but we needn’t allow that to distract us from our triumphant Jesus. As a picture is blurred when the focus is off, so is the vision of the Church; and all we need is a simple adjustment to turn our gaze upon the One who has already overcome all evil at the cross. Romans 1:16-17 remains just as relevant today as the succeeding verses that were just quoted…

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Remember those faithful disciples who went into that upper room and waited for the coming of the Spirit? Many of us have much in common with them! We have been waiting for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit for years and years and years. We have waited and waited, standing in faith on the promises of God. What if our wait is just about over? I absolutely believe it is!  I’ve have held onto that promise for such a long time it seems; but now, after that night of glory-filled dreams in which the church was exploding for righteousness at every turn, I’m certain that the Church, God’s Church, is very definitely alive and well; and the triumphant power of Jesus through the presence of the Holy Spirit is even now being poured out upon the world.

Let this day of Pentecost be a day that history will look back at as the turning point, as the day when the Holy Spirit began to blow anew throughout creation to revolutionize the Bride of Christ as she prepares for the arrival of her Bridegroom.

The Wonder of Our God

Barbara Kain Parker Biblical Insights, Devotional, Inspirational, Personal Testimony , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

 

Cousins Barbara Eva Leonard Eddie etc 1955 corrected

 

Growing up, we lived near the families of two of my dad’s brothers and I was close to a couple of cousins who were about my age. As my younger siblings began arriving, so did younger cousins—all of whom we considered the “little kids.” It’s amazing how distant five or six years seem during our formative years, and how such age differences shrink into insignificance as adults.

Crystal was one of the little kids, so after my family moved away when I was seventeen we lost touch for many years. About five years ago Crystal started calling occasionally and we’d talk awhile, but still didn’t know one another well. Eventually though, we discovered that we are both passionate about God in a way that many others in our extended family are not; and a spiritual bond began to form.

The last few years have been very difficult for Crystal, with catastrophic illnesses plaguing her husband that have left him permanently disabled; a multitude of other cascading problems; and, in just the last year, she lost both parents as well as two of other close family members. Sinking into a place of deep despair, she continued crying out to God and, as always, He has been faithful. I share the background of Crystal’s difficulties to illustrate the wonder of the sufficiency of our Lord, even in the midst of our most desperate times. In her words…

Super close up of delicate blue wildflower blank Ava - Copy

I was walking the puppies, and out near the edge of our mowed lawn is the wilder part where the more natural grasses grow up to a height of about 18 inches.

It’s early spring and the wildflowers have just started to bloom here and there. Over the years, as I’ve taken photos of our flowers, I’ve found that some of my very favorites are the tiny wild flowers. At first glance, looking down at them from about five feet above, they don’t look all that impressive. But when I bend down and focus on the tiny blooms, some not more than an inch across, I am amazed to see the glorious details of the little petals and stamens, complete with pollen.

This day, walking near the edge of the lawn, I noticed a lone grouping of three fronds of one of these little Missouri wildflowers. It was white and delicate with little yellow stamens.

I wondered, “Will this little flower survive without anyone but the good Lord up above watering it and caring for it?” I also pondered the question, “What good will this little flower be?  If I hadn’t just happened to walk out here, nobody would even have enjoyed its beauty.”

Just then, a huge black-and-yellow-striped bumblebee, about an inch long and a half-inch wide, buzzed in and landed on the tiny wildflower. This is the kind of bumblebee I used to see growing up in Northern California where we used to love to catch them in the lupine bushes in quart glass Mason jars because we always liked to hear them “sing” as they buzzed.

It was always fun to find one that had lots of pollen dots on its back legs, gathered and distributed along its travels. I’ve since learned that many flowers don’t pollinate unless a bee comes along to do it for them.

So, here was this little lone wildflower and I watched, mesmerized, as the big bumblebee adeptly and carefully visited each and every little open petal.

I felt ashamed that I had so quickly judged the seemingly insignificant wildflower. I wasn’t the only one to enjoy its beauty—I was but one of many, including the Good Lord up above, the angels, and all the other birds and bees flying about.

Suddenly I didn’t feel like such a lone wildflower living out in the wilderness. The Spirit spoke to me and said that I am never alone, but that God Himself always makes plans to visit me and deposit within me bits of Himself, where they can stay forever, producing His life. Then, as I am filled with Him, I can be like the bumblebee and spread the beauty of His love to other flowers (people) I come in contact with.

May we all decide now to be like industrious little bumblebees, pollinating with His life all the wildflowers and cultivated flowers with whom the LORD allows us to interact.  We do this by sharing His light; by walking in His light. We do this by not reacting badly, even when others do so. We do this when we shine with His glory because we have been swimming in it ourselves, and it just exudes out of us effortlessly.

What wonderful details and symmetry God has placed on our little blue planet!

So today, praise Him, especially if you identify with being a lone little wildflower living out in the wilderness because…

He knows the way that I take;
When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. Job 23:10

 

To Be or Not to Be…

Barbara Kain Parker Biblical Insights, Devotional, Inspirational , , , , , , , , , ,

IMG_4584
Happy Birthday to the Standing In Faith discussion group on LinkedIn, for today we are 2 years old.  Not only that, but we welcome our 700th member, which, I must confess, completely astounds me.  I’ve pondered all day what to write in celebration of the occasion, but just couldn’t come up with anything good.  I finally decided to do what I should have done in the first place and ask the Lord (Duhhh!!!).  The easiest way to relate His answer is to simply copy the conversation from my journal….

I sit here pondering what I should write on my blog so I ask the Lord and immediately hear, “To be or not to be, that is the question.” What’s that all about Lord? What does Shakespeare have to do with this?  To be or not to be what? 

Mine.

Yeah but… I need more information.  And I hear a song…

The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin, the light of the world is Jesus.

And???

Write about it.

What shall I say?

Send the light, the blessed gospel light, let it shine from shore to shore. (another song)

Lord, if you give me the words to write and I post it on my blog/group, it will go from shore to shore because you’ve grown the group internationally. 

And that was it.  I kept asking Him to embellish the message but there was no response, so I started researching the phrases to figure out how to do it myself.  I guess I’m slow, but I finally got it!  His message is so simple.  Mankind must make a decision, to be or not to be His; and though the whole world is lost in the darkness of sin, the light of the world is Jesus.  It’s a message that doesn’t need embellishment.

That simple message is what the Standing In Faith Group is all about, and my prayer is that He will shed His light around the world as we go forward into our third year.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.  In him was life, and the life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.  He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.  He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.  He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.  He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.  But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.  (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”)  For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.  For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

John 1: 1-18 (ESV)