The miracle of life

 

Amid all of the illness and the unprecedented number of lives lost in a single year, there have been many, many blessings of babies being born. Every time I heard of a birth, ... it's kind of hard to describe the feeling - almost like a breath of fresh air; a brief moment of calm, of normalcy.
     I thought during this week of celebrating the birth of our Lord and Saviour, we might pray for all of the babies born this year and remember how blessed we are to have such a loving and merciful Creator to watch over us and guide us through this life. He knows each one of us intimately, even each hair on our heads. He has a plan for our lives.
     Even among death, life continues and is renewed, just as even among graves, flowers bloom.
     I found this bible verse which I must have read many times, but it never stuck out in my mind as a 'wow' kind of thing until today. I've been blessed to give birth twice, and aside from the effect of accelerated hormones, it's really an emotional experience. On one hand, I had this human being growing inside of me and that's its own miracle. On the other hand, I was anxious for the child to be born - anxious as in, couldn't wait, but also in nervous about how she would change my life and uncertain if I was up for the challenge. There was also the anxiety of childbirth - because of the curse, it is extremely painful, but we forget the pain. If we didn't, we would never have more than one child.

When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, 

but when she has delivered the baby, 

she no longer remembers the anguish, 

for joy that a human being has been born into the world.

John 16:21 ESV

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Please join me this week in praising God for sending His only Son and allowing us to share in that experience through the teachings of the Gospels (See Luke 2:1-7). Praise Him for all of the new lives He brought into this world in 2020 and for giving us that 'breath of fresh air' when we needed it most. Let us pray for the health and welfare of all of those born this year and their families. May they dwell on the joy and miracle and blessings of new life.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #family #baby #born #miracle #blessing #love #life

Faith as a child

Another aspect of "patience" illustrated in the Bible is waiting faithfully for Jesus to come again. Believers have been waiting for over 2000 years and we'll wait for another 2000, or however long it takes because we know that we will one day be with Him either by dying from our earthly bodies, or by being lifted up during the rapture. We know it will happen in God's time, not ours.

Pastor Rollie Rench posed the question last Sunday (4-28-2019) "How many of you during your daily, spiritual life think, today could be the day?" He told us he didn't want a show of hands, but "how many think that?" There was a little girl seated in front of us, maybe 7 or 8 years old and she proudly raised her hand at his question. He continued, [how many think today] "the sky could open up and today I could hear the trumpets and today I would be with the Lord in heaven? How many of you think of that? Probably not many." The girl again raised her hand. She turned and looked at her mother sitting directly in front of me and I could see her young, eager face smiling, beaming at being able to raise her hand in testimony that she thinks about the Second Coming. The purity, hope, and understanding of what that question meant, and what her answer meant filled me with a renewed sense of anticipation to be with the Lord. I want to wake up every morning and marvel at the thought that, "Today could be the day!" What about you?

You can listen to the full sermon here.

Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. 

See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, 

waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 

You also be patient. 

Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

James 5:7-8 (NKJV)

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Let's pray for someone we know who lacks patience (this may mean including yourself in your prayer). I'll post daily reminders on:
twitter @7DegreesOfMe
instagram @archadia27
facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power