One of my favorite 'messages' that was sent to me from God
through my sister-in-law is titled, 'This is the rest of Victory'. I have
shared it a number of times so I won't repeat all of it here, but what
always comforts me, and challenges me, is this line, "I know that
whatever comes into my life, must first pass through the hands of Jesus,
and if He allows it to come into my life it must have a great purpose, one
that He understands, and I must accept by faith.'
   This morning (Tuesday) it occurred to me that finding that purpose
is like panning for Gold. You have to sift through a lot of dirt and rocks
to find the gold. Sometimes the gold is in the form of very small dust,
and sometimes, though rarely, you find a 'nugget'. As a rule the miners
go through tons of earth to hopefully find an ounce of gold.
   Often that feels like 'discovering' God's will, or purpose, in a given
situation, or on a given day. You KNOW that it's not just laying on top
of the ground waiting for you to pick it up, after all, it's not manna. You
KNOW that you have to clear away the crud of the earth to find the
truth. You also KNOW that the 'treasure' you discover is worth all the
gold in the world.
   There is great joy, and great victory, in those precious 'AHA'
moments when it all comes together. It is the closest that a sighted
person will ever come to feeling what a blind person must feel when
they see for the first time.
   The 'mining' takes place in our prayer life and in our Bible study.
It takes place when we shut out the world to listen to Jesus, to walk with
Him and to talk with Him. The nuggets are found on every page of
Scripture and every line of every page--and written on the hearts of men
and women of Faith. Read Matthew7: 7 -ll.
and oh yeah, MERRY CHRISTMAS
                          Blessing, Prayers, and Love,
                                        Bro Tom & Sue