Filled Up and Overflowing

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 13: 15

The greatest form of "tired" is from using up all your energy worshiping and working for the Lord. We just got back last evening from a Christian gathering of six-thousand women . . . plus my husband Bill and a handful of other men. We were tired but uplifted, used-up but filled-up, drained-empty by hope-filled. One of the speakers, Georgette Miller, said her tombstone should read, "All used-up." She intended to live every moment, helping others in the name of the Lord, until there was nothing more.

How many of us trust the Lord and give our will over to Him so that we do only His work and have no needs of our own but His. That is NOT sacrificial living. That is abundant living! Within the heart and arms of God, there is plenty; there are riches of a kind we never knew existed! And, it is all ours when we are living for Him. We live in hope and hope for nothing, because the power of the Holy Spirit is within us, guiding us and filling us with joy and peace. Let us pray:

"Holy Father, creator of all, you are my all-in-all. I drink from your well and praise you that I will never be thirsty again. Your name is Holy and powerful; the mention of your name brings spirit-health and soul-healing and the release of love and hope that heals the body. For this day, I ask that you accept my will, wrapped up as a gift for you. Your will for me is so much more exciting, full and life-filling than anything I can imagine. I thank you and praise your name for the privilege of living for you. Forgive me for the times I offered my life, then took control again. Let this be the day when I let go . . . and live for you. In the name of Jesus Christ, your son and my savior, I pray. Amen"

Doris
"God gives us stories that testify to His love. Let me tell you mine."Copyright 2014 Doris Gaines Rapp

My new novel, Smoke from Distant Fires, is now available at www.cokesbury.com, www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com or you can prepay and order it from your bookstore.

Length of Days - The Age of Silence is now available at www.cokesbury.com too - as well as the other online bookstores and at your local bookstore when you prepay your order.

Website: www.dorisgainesrapp.com

Facebook: Doris Gaines Rapp - Author Page

Convince a Salesman of Jesus with "Christ-Share"

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8: 38-39 (NIV)

Okay, okay, I made a mistake. For some reason beyond reason, I started to fill out a survey on my laptop. Finally, I realized it was just a fishing trip to gain information so they could call my home and try to sell me something. I closed the survey and hoped for the best.

During the last presidential election, we had floods of phone calls soliciting for political donations. Once, after we had a flood of calls that day, I said, "Lady, this is the forty-seventh call asking for political support today. Please, take us off your lists."

The last three calls on Friday, three days ago, were to help us sell our timeshare. The problem with that generous offer of assistance was, we owned a Florida condo which we sold, not a timeshare. After the same company called for the third time today, my patience had grown thin. I thought I’d take a different stance.

"Your company has already called me twice today," I began. Then, peace flooded me as I thought of another approach. I decided to "sell" them something. "Let me tell you about this Holy time of the year. Today is Good Friday when our Lord Jesus was arrested, beaten, died and rose again from the dead a few days later, on Easter Sunday. Please, put in your computer that we have never owned a timeshare so no one else has to call. Have a blessed Easter. Thank you for calling."

There was silence on the other end, but not like "dead air." It was more like they had heard and were speechless to respond. Rather than feeling angry about the repeated phone call, I felt at peace and, as strange as it may seem, I felt a connection with the man. I really did want him to have a blessed Easter!

This next political season, I believe I will take the approach I did today with the timeshare salesman. I think I’ll call it Christ-share. I will bless them and wish them well and tell them a little about the passion of my life - my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Remember, when a salesperson places an unsolicited call, they are not providing a service you have requested. So, seize the opportunity and conversation. Convince them of Jesus. Practice a few lines of testimony before they have time to hang up and let the love of God and the peace of Jesus flood their ears and bless their day. Let us pray:

"Father God, you are the only voice I seek to hear while noise bombards my ears. Thank you for speaking love within my heart. I do not have to be annoyed when others chatter on with nonsense I neither need nor seek. Let me calm down and speak love to them instead. Give me the calm assurance to speak truth to commercial fluff and love to an angry world. Forgive me when I have become annoyed when my peace has been invaded by an unwanted call. May I use those opportunities to tell the caller about you. Give me strength and the power of your words. In the name of Jesus, the ‘Word-made-flesh,’ I pray. Amen"

Doris
"God gives us stories that testify to His love. Let me tell you mine."Copyright 2014 Doris Gaines Rapp

Facebook: pages/Doris Gaines Rapp

If you are in Louisville, KY the evening of Thursday, April 24, drop into Barnes & Noble Summit, 4110 Summit Plaza Dr. where I will be signing, Escape from the Belfry.

Website: www.dorisgainesrapp.com

Palm Sunday Joy - Then Came . . .

"And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." Luke 22:19

Last Sunday, we shouted with the followers in Jerusalem, "Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!"

Then came Maundy Thursday and the Last Supper of our Lord. Jesus knew what was to come and He willingly gave up His own body to be broken and he ultimately died for each of us. Later, what would you have done when the guards came to the Mount of Olives to take Him away while He prayed? Would you have shouted with joy, "Blessed is the name of Jesus?" Or, would you have slipped away into the night and disavowed your relationship to Him? I know what I would like to believe I would do. But, what we do in our hour of trauma is sometimes unpredictable.

Let us pray that we will always claim the name of Jesus; that we will always stand up for Him and proclaim our love for Him, just as He did for us. Let this Maundy Thursday be a day when we take in the body and blood of Jesus Christ so that we become Christlike. May Good Friday be the day we stand at the foot of the cross and wait with Him, rather than run away. Let Sunday, Easter morning, be the day when we KNOW that He has risen from the dead, and because He lives, we too will live. Let us pray:

"Holy Father, Papa God, we bow before your precious name. May your kingdom of love and light come to our hurting world this Easter season. Sometimes, we have not spoken up when others have taken your name and trampled it under their feet. Instead, we maintain peace, rather than saying, "Yes, I believe." All believers around the world, know your blessings of love and forgiveness. May this be the time when we acknowledge you before others and tell them of the peace you have brought to our lives - all because of Christ. In the name of Jesus, your son and our Savior, we pray. Amen"

Doris
"God gives us stories that testify to His love. Let me tell you mine."
Copyright 2014 Doris Gaines Rapp

Website: www.dorisgainesrapp.com

Chocolate: Slave or Free

"But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness." Romans: 6: 17-18

In 2014, chocolate is harvested by slave labor. Yes, in most of the world, real slaves cut and prepared the chocolate from the cocoa plant. There are more slaves in the world today, than in the plantation south of the pre-Civil War era. And, we can be slaves to chocolate in another way, with a craving for the elixir of the gods. But, is it the gods we worship, or the one true God? These are two points for today:

1. When you are shopping for chocolate treats for Easter baskets, look for the symbol,

"Rainforest Alliance Certified." Chocolate in these packages was harvested by non-slave/free laborers. Watch carefully since not all candy companies have slave-free chocolate in all of their products. I checked very quickly through the candy aisle and found two companies with similar shaped chocolate pieces that had the "Rainforest Alliance Certified" green label on them. Try not to support companies who hold their young workers in slavery in order to meet my desire for chocolate, while gaining huge profits for themselves.

2. Also, from our scripture above, during this blessed Lent season, know that we have been set free from the things that enslave us. This frees us to be willing and eager to turn our lives over to God, the lover and creator of our hearts and souls. Being a "slave of righteousness" is - acting in accord with divine or moral law - free from guilt or sin. What a wonderful freedom to be enslaved to!

Our willingness to be enslaved to Christ is not the same as the unwillingness of being enslaved by others. Let us remember those who are not free to work, to live their own lives and free to choose their own way as we give thanks for all that we have and all whom we love. Let us pray:

"Father God, you knitted me together with the words that you spoke, setting creation into forward motion when life was begun. Holy is your name and the love you used as the energy to set the world spinning. I stand amazed by your glory. May my heart open wide enough for you to reveal your kingdom all around me. May this be the day when I wake up, aware that I have been freed from sin and am able to willingly rest in you. Forgive me for the times I have put out my hand to you and then withdrew it in fear - fear that I would lose too much of me. Today, I give you all of me, to gain all of you. While I praise you for my freedom to receive, I also lift up those around the world who are not free. May my desire for "things" not be the reason for their enslavement. In the name of Jesus, your son and my savior, I pray. Amen"

Doris
"God gives us stories that testify to His love. Let me tell you mine."
Copyright 2014 Doris Gaines Rapp

If you are in Louisville, KY the evening of Thursday, April 24, drop into Barnes & Noble Summit, 4110 Summit Plaza Dr. where I will be signing, Escape from the Belfry.

Website: www.dorisgainesrapp.com