Many years ago Felix of Nola was escaping his enemies, and he took temporary refuge in a cave. He had scarcely entered it before a spider began to weave its web across the small opening. With remarkable speed the insect completely sealed off the mouth of the cave with an intricate design, giving the appearance that it had not been entered for many weeks.

As Felix’s pursuers passed by they saw the web and didn’t even bother to look inside. Later as the godly fugitive stepped out into the sunlight, he uttered these insightful words: “Where God is, a spider’s web is a wall; where He is not, a wall is but a spider’s web.”

Source: Wisdom For The Way

Listen.

I’ve been thinking about gift wrapping a lot lately. With Christmas only four days away it’s so easy to pick up holiday gift bags, far easier than it is to measure and cut beautiful paper and wrap it with ribbon around one or more boxes. If I want to save both time and money, I can easily justify gift bags because they don’t require a bow and the tag comes already attached. What more could I want? Ah, but then I think about the person who is going to receive the gift. What message does the ‘stash-and-dash with tissue paper’ approach send…that I was too busy to truly care…or that their gift was just one among several that needed to be covered with something.

Throughout the year there are many ways we affirm the value of others, but at Christmas the time we take to decide on a gift, how well suited it is to the person receiving it and how we wrap it are all indicators of how much we care about them as individuals. And since the most meaningful gifts are to be found in relationships, why would I even consider doing my Christmas wrapping as though it didn’t count for all that it represents.

It’s a big state in a crowded world, but Susan and her dog, Clovis, often find solace in walking together near Alpine. Far from the deafening noise of Dallas and Houston, they’re able to step onto a deserted railroad track knowing that there will be no trains to interrupt the serenity of living 75 miles from the nearest Walmart.

It’s interesting how at this time of year when the hush is supposed to settle upon us and reflection set in that we scurry and squander. If you’re like me, you’ve been dismayed by the reports of extravagant spending in an American economy that is struggling to put people back to work. Glitz and gluttony rise to a super high pitch during the Christmas season while the still small voice of the Christ child can appear to diminish to a whisper.

Maybe that’s why we need to be like Clovis. No one is going to attack Susan without his notice. No one is going to attack my Savior without my notice either. There’s a lot of noise outside my window, but I live to tell of a Man who is my best friend. I guard our relationship and defend His preeminence.

In a world that needs Him, Christianity remains a faith to be protected. There are all kinds of attacks pulling on it all year long, with over-the-top indulgence being but one example. Living in the world may be more challenging than it was even five years ago, but we have a choice to make in how we live, what we buy and who we help. We can do simple, and we will be the better for it.

While Thanksgiving Day is an American tradition, giving thanks to God is an ongoing global event. Our Bibles are published in different languages, yet there is a common thread that runs through them all binding the Church together.  It is the message that we are alive in Him. The oxygen we breathe and the ground on which we walk are by God’s design, and our days are ordered so that we may proclaim His glory.

So wherever you live I’m inviting you to sign this Thanksgiving card to God by adding a verse from your Bible that expresses your gratitude. I Chronicles 16:8 says, “Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.” Let our voices be heard and let’s see how many verses we can add to this post. You don’t need to be part of PhotoMission to participate, and everyone is asked to include your name and your country in your comment.

Let the praises begin.

You could think of her as a modern-day Mother Teresa, but you might not imagine her living the dependent Christian life of a single woman. Then again looking at the resolute expression on her face, you might.

I don’t have a lot of history where Hope’s past is concerned, whether her life was filled with cushioned furniture and geeky kitchen gadgets or how many friends she had who enjoyed contemporary urban life. I do know that eight years ago she said good-bye to her home in Europe and set out on an adventure that brought her to a remote region of the world where there are few earthly possessions to be had, only orphans to be cradled.

Hope is a mother to many and yet, has no children of her own. She spends her days in an orphanage preparing countless crafts that brighten the lives of little ones who would otherwise wander abandoned on the streets. And while you can easily spot her strong will in the photo you might be surprised to learn just how far that strong will has carried this remarkable woman of faith. Rather than use a translator, Hope chose to learn the language of the children she mentors. Such fluency enabled her to build a cohesive bond with them while they were young.

Soon after arriving at her new home, Hope acquired a small restaurant to employ adults who had grown up in the orphanage. The reality of her presence in their lives did not end with making puppets from brown bags or stick people from drinking straws. Hope became like a real mother to the orphans, and the dedication that accompanied her commitment then gave birth to making a difference in their lives today.

How often do you talk to God? Many of us have a dedicated quiet time. I like to have mine as soon as I exercise in the morning. Lately I’ve been thinking about the fact that while God ministers to me early in the day my time spent with Him was never intended to be limited by the hands on a clock.

So I’ve been addressing this area of my life by being less caught up in distractions as my day unfolds and being more interested in my relationship with Christ. Clearly the more time I spend in His Word the more I realize there is no one else I would rather be near. Time is, after all, going to move on with or without any input on my part, but the relevancy of knowing that I can communicate with my Creator throughout the day ought to prompt me to be more involved in praying for the things that are on His heart. That early morning hour over coffee when my Bible is open should just be the start of what it means to walk with Him through the day.

So I put together a list of ten things to help me remember that I don’t abide by the clock when it comes to talking to our Lord. The more I talk, the more He listens. The more He listens, the closer the bond between us becomes.

I can:

* express simple and elegant words of praise.
* intercede for five people who don’t yet know Him.
* intercede for five people who do know Him.
* lift up the needs of our country.
* lift up the needs of a country that is foreign to me in every way.
* pray for the leadership of my local church.
* pray for the leadership of churches in a specific city miles from where I live.
* open His Word to a book and chapter midday and read it as though I’m reading it for the first time.
* think about a part of the human body that I couldn’t live without and give Him praise for creating it.
* read a Psalm on the spur of the moment.

So that’s a good beginning. What comes to mind when you think about the conversations you have with God? What things would you add to my list that would personalize it for you?

John Calvin once said, “Christ is much more powerful to save, than Adam was to destroy.” The present and past tense of the verbs is the first clue, I believe, to understanding the quote. From those words I take away an understanding that there was nothing Adam could do as one of the world’s first two sinners that God, through His son, Jesus, could not rise above. While there are no direct references to 9/11 in the book of Genesis, God was nearby when Adam and Eve brought down the human race.

He was also nearby on September 11, 2001. The grotesque face of grisly sin appeared uncontrollable as it crushed our emotions that Tuesday and was responsible for fresh tears in the months that followed the attacks. Because what happened in New York, Washington and Shanksville was about much more than an evil man leading a terrorist group bent on human catastrophe and economic destruction; it was flamboyant rebellion against the Commander and Chief of the heavens. And it left us as a country in a state of shock.

While the churches at first filled with people seeking refuge, the churches emptied once the wreckage was cleared and the debris removed. American homes became like so many strange sanctuaries with pets, home entertainment centers and comfort food used to short circuit the pain.

Anthrax spores and safety recalls made the news far too often. Metal detectors and body scanners became part of an unpleasant maze as we tossed cosmetics, water bottles and harmless (but suspicious) objects into airport dumpsters. We were told to watch for anyone who could hurt us everywhere we went.

The personal invasion of our lives led many Americans to mistrust one another in record numbers. Visits to public places came with a search of what we carried with us, and backpacks were checked with our coats. Locations that previously had allowed us access were now asking for a photo ID, including hospitals where medical testing could not begin until we proved by the image on our driver’s license that we were who we claimed to be. There was an increase in employees wearing photo badges on the job, and fear began to take hold at such a deep and pervasive level that we wondered if life as we had known it before that awful day would ever return.

Instead the number of surveillance cameras increased. Somehow or other we had all come under suspicion. Injustice was everywhere, making fear the most formidable remnant of the 9/11 attacks.

The good news is that ten years later this extreme style of social living does not have to continue. Today we can begin a new chapter in American history and stop being afraid of one another. God says in His Word that He did not give us a spirit of fear, but fear is Satan’s weapon of choice. The more Satan keeps Americans anxious, the less opportunity there is for trust to be built and friendship in the collective sense revitalized.

The way America counters terrorism is not to go on putting up with fear but to live in the freedom of knowing that no man, no group, no one can take away what Christ did for us on the cross; and it is only at the cross where lasting freedom from panic is found. We have this foundation as a nation.

I could never love you like you love me. You know I often say this to you, don’t I? You have held me so close I have felt your arms wrapped around my frame on more than one occasion and I know it was you. The journey we began together ten years ago today still overwhelms me when I look back on it. And you know what? I can’t wait for tomorrow.

I really enjoy what I learn from you too. You know what you stripped me of and what you replaced it with so we’ll just keep that as a secret between us, won’t we. I would rather eat Your Words than the finest meal prepared in the most expensive restaurant because I know that when I get up from the table I will be satisfied. My strength will have been fortified, my insight deepened and my passion, ahh, my passion. You set it on fire every time we talk.

I may be one of many but the title of servant is unique to explain just how far you have brought me and from where. I prayed to be returned from exile in a foreign place but you said I had to wait. That was really hard…and long. The wait, though, was so worth it in the end. Along the way you mentioned a word that I didn’t think applied to me. But the word did apply to me. It was creative. Logic is still good, though, isn’t it? Because it seems like you have me using both sides of my brain now where before the one side lay dormant.

Remember the time you told me not to be discouraged? Oh that’s right. There was more than one time, wasn’t there? Remember when I prayed for encouragement and you answered my prayer moments later.

You have spoken truth when others have not. You have enabled me to soar on the wings of eagles and to find contentment. And even though persecution has (for the most part) lost its sting because I choose to walk with you, I still find your peace precious.

So anyway, I just wanted to tell you once again, I Love You. Don’t ever change.

I know you won’t.

Lately it seems that the words, Breaking News, stream across our monitors with increasing frequency. One headline replaces yet another. The stories capture our attention, find their social appeal through words like trending now and then disappear like so much smoke escaping from our consciousness.

While the world may appear to go from bad to worse, we’re biblically reminded that while it is yet day we are to work and to let the Son of God shine through everything we do. Some of us are called to put out fires while others are called to comfort one hurting soul at a time.

When God gives us these clearly designated individuals to help, I believe we can do no less than obey. Maybe we can’t solve the famine in Somalia or the newly-reported corruption associated with the relief efforts. And we can’t ease the grief of the mother who sobs relentlessly over the death of her only child.

But when the words shift from we/us to I/me, that’s when it gets personal. No longer am I part of a crowd mentality but rather I have been given direction to help one solitary person God has brought more visibly into my life. As I have prayed over my answer to a question raised last week God has made it clear, “Here you can make a difference in her life, teach her and help her grow in her understanding of My Love.”

I intend to do this soon. Mentoring is a responsibility I do not take lightly, but I see the Son’s rays shining through the smoke. My consciousness is seared with the words, trending now.