Resurrection Healing

Paul said . . ."Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12: 8-10

Have you heard the painful accusation, "They are sick because they didn’t have enough faith in God to be healed." How cruel. Where does the Bible say, if we have enough faith we will be perfect? As Paul tells us, God’s power is perfected in our weaknesses. Some are healed in the body and some are given power to do God’s will in spite of their affliction to prove His strength.

All will be made perfect on the Day of Resurrection. For most Christians that is understood as, we will be made perfect when we come into the presence of God, whether that be when we die or when the Lord Returns. This, however, is not a few sentences on a centuries’ old argument over when Jesus will return, or when the faithful will be raised from the dead. I believe He will return, the timing is totally up to God and my opinion will not cause Him to tarry one moment or speed His return by a nanosecond.

We will be given the power to do God’s will here on earth, regardless of our physical limitations. Then, the world will see the might of God in spite of our disabilities. We will be made perfect - have resurrection healing - when we cast off our earth-bound body and soar to the throne of God.

Do not be discouraged if you cannot run fast, preach eloquently, sing beautifully, or even get up off the floor once you have sat down. God has a plan for you that will be fulfilled when we give ourselves over to His power in our lives. Let us pray:

"Holy Father, Abba, Daddy, I bow before you and your plan for my life. You are Holy; I am not worthy of having you direct my life, but I give it over to you willingly. Whatever I do in your name, it will be by your grace and power. Please, accept this flawed life I give you and use it to fulfill whatever you have in mind. Forgive me when I have given away your blessings because it didn’t fit into my busy schedule. May this be the day when excuses stop and I accept your power to perfect my weaknesses. I am healed when I believe in your power to heal, and I let you decide what needs to be healed in me, my body, soul, emotions, relationships, career or flaws I’m not even aware of. In the name of your son Jesus, I pray. Amen"

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

Hiawassee - Child of the Meadow - available to order from your local bookstore or online in eBook or print. I will be signing it and Smoke from Distant Fires at the Pow Wow in Tipton, Indiana on Saturday, August 30, 2014.

Beginnings

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,
since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." Colossians 3:23-24 (NIV)

"School already?" Perhaps it’s hard to think of school and football games in crisp night air and family dinners in the autumn, because . . . it all leads to winter, and quite frankly, I had enough of that season to last for several years. Life does go on and we enter another academic year this week or next, depending on your school.

What does that have to do with people who have no children or who have reared their family? We all have a wonderful opportunity to begin again, just like the students. Sometimes we have become discouraged or delayed, or maybe we have finally answered God’s call to live life for Him. Every day is a new chance to begin, and the second part is not only the answer to, "Begin at what?" After the call, it is about how we live.

I heard Elizabeth Elliot (Through Gates of Splendor) speak at a Women’s Spiritual Retreat many years ago. She said, "God doesn’t care what we do. He cares how we do it." You may or may not agree with her on our life’s work and following God’s call into it, but, there is a lot to be said about, "How we do it." We are to work at our job and/or school with all our heart as we would if we were working for the Lord, not for our boss or teacher. In so doing, we will receive an inheritance from the Lord. If our inheritance were absolutely no more than living each hour in the company of God, wouldn’t that finally be enough? Let us pray:

"Oh God, my God, how blessed it is to walk with you, to talk with you, to be with you in all our work and activities. It is not labor when we serve you. It is the dance of life, the music of our soul, the love of our heart. Today I choose to begin again, with a freshness like the morning dew. Forgive me when I have doubted, or been ungrateful, or complained about life until I die to the work you have for me. Life is for the living, not the dying. I choose life and the beauty of being near you, walking and talking with you along my way home. Give me the clarity of vision to see you in every turn, in every fork in the road. Let this be the day of new beginnings for us all. In the name of Jesus, your son, who lives in the spirit within and in the gentle hand that leads me on, I pray. Amen"

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

Hiawassee - Child of the Meadow - available to order from your local bookstore or online. Amazon still does not have the eBook up but has the print book. Cokesbury.com will have it soon. Barnes and Noble online is missing the cover but can be ordered. I will be signing it and Smoke from Distant Fires at the Pow Wow in Tipton, Indiana on Saturday, August 30, 2014.

A Quiet Thunder

"He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth.’" Psalm 46: 10

"Be still . . . ." Is it actually possible, in our time, to be still? When I think of all we do, regardless of age: work, school, sports, home, friends, church, family and . . . well you get the idea. To know God, we must first be still.

You can practice stillness by selecting a favorite Bible verse and meditate or focusing upon it for five or ten minutes. When the mind drifts off to the worries or tasks of the day don’t be concerned. Brush the thoughts away like a pesky fly and return to the holiness of God’s presence in His word. Be still . . .

. . . and know. The verse doesn’t say, "I think maybe there must be a god up there - somewhere." Or, "I wish it were true." It says, ". . . and know . . . that I am God." When we know that God is real, when we know that He is present, when we know that His promises are true, we become filled with His Holy presence. Others may not see the mountains in our life move or the lightening crack open the sky and let down a golden ladder into Heaven. But, there is a rolling thunder of the soul when the voice of God vibrates within our heart and brings all our melodies into perfect harmony with Him. Be still and know . . . . Let us pray:

"Father God, when you speak, your words are like the timpani of a song, the climatic roll of the kettledrum and its quiet beat that provides hope and constant measure, a rhythm to which we move. Holy is your name and precious is your beat of life. I choose this day to be still. I choose this day to know. I choose this day to allow the quiet thunder of your beating heart to measure my stride and give me life. Forgive me when I have walked cautiously along your paths. The only true walk is to the drumbeat of your melody, written and composed just for me. I pray that each of us may know you through the stillness of our lives. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen"

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

Hiawassee - Child of the Meadow - released today at your local bookstore or online at Cokesbury, Amazon (a little slow this morning), Barnes and Noble (on line missing cover) and others.

When All Else Fails . . .

"For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6: 32-34 (NIV)

We’ve all heard, "When all else fails, read the directions." Biblically, we know, "Seek first the kingdom of God."

Believe me, this day has troubles of its own. I/we are trying to upload the eBook for Hiawassee - Child of the Meadow. It keeps being rejected for things like "embedded fonts." Does anyone out there know how to embed or un-embed a font? My friend, the computer guru, knows how. To clarify, she is learning how to convert to ePub so she can help me upload the manuscript. Another point of clarification, there is no real "we" in this final process. I wrote it and she is converting it.

The part I need to continue to learn is to trust in God to handle the "grief" of technical detail. It takes time and it takes skills I do not possess. God will carry the tension of the job if I will just let go of it. Before all else fails, turn to God to gradually let the process unfold. Seek Him and everything will, eventually, fall into place. Let us pray:

"Holy Father, your name is precious above all names. The mention of your name heals the sick and give patience to the foolish who put too many details into one day. Let me put away patterns of behavior that cause me to run ahead of you. Everything has a time, when that time is your time. Forgive me for when I have forgotten that. I love you Lord and I want to live within your plan, for your plan brought us your son Jesus. What more evidence of your love would anyone need, than the day you brought love and hope and forgiveness and song and grace into the world. In the name of Jesus, your son, I pray. Amen"

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

I will be signing Smoke from Distant Fires and Hiawssee - Child of the Meadow at the Pow Wow in Tipton, Indiana on Saturday, August 30, 2014.

Hiawassee - Child of the Meadow will be available the first part of August.

Length of Days - Beyond the Valley, the second in the Length of Days series, will be out late in the fall, 2014. It will be available in paperback and eBook.

The Fellowship of Believers

"I thank my God every time I remember you." Philippians 1:3 (NIV)

What a glorious day the Sabbath was! Our daughter and son-in-law joined us for church while on their vacation and then joined me for a nice visit at the home. The congregation was friendly as usual. An anniversary party for friends later in the afternoon gave the opportunity to see and fellowship with many old friends and a chance to meet new and fascinating new ones!

When you count your friends among the fellowship of believers, time spent together is absent of jealously, gossip, and negative interchanges that bring one down, rather than energize and lift you up. Embrace those who embrace the Lord and you will be loved and cherished. Be prepared to bring prayer support to others as well and not just act as a sponge for the love of others. Those who wait upon the Lord, are both blessed and are a blessing to others. Let us pray:

"Father God, Abba, Daddy, you are the light that shines within me and flame that lights my path. Holy is your name and worthy of praise. May this day be the day when I remember the fellowship of your believers, loving them, responding to their need for prayer and not just become a "pleader," a receiver of your blessings. I love you Lord. Let my life be a testament to that love, that I may sooth the pain of others. I thank you Lord for all those you have given me and the new ones you have introduced. In the name of Jesus Christ, your son, I pray. Amen"

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

Smoke from Distant Fires, Escape from the Belfry, and Length of Days - The Age of Silence can be ordered from any bookstore, or on line at www.cokesbury.com, www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com. It is available in paperback and eBook.

Hiawassee - Child of the Meadow will be available the first part of August.

Length of Days - Beyond the Valley, the second in the Length of Days series, will be out late in the fall, 2014. It will be available in paperback and eBook.

　

Words of Life

"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer." Psalm 19:14 (KJV)

A friend brought his eReader to me just be before church began yesterday and said, "This is my favorite part of your book," and pointed to one of the paragraphs I have here. Which paragraph he showed me, I’m still not sure. I may have remembered wrong, that which I had forgotten, so I include them both. It was one of these. The first is my favorite but the second may have been his.

Regarding a drawing a gifted child had created depicting her experience of God:
"Tears flowed like healing waters as I was bathed again in the same spirit of
holiness that had touched me so many years ago. Against the canvas of Heaven,
like a mighty, holy colossus striding across the firmament, was a completely
formed drawing of a being. With the breath of life flowing from his mouth and
nostrils, the being looked as if his spoken word had just caused the whole world
to leap into creation. His powerful muscles declared his strength and his eyes
revealed his love. His hair blew across the night sky like a field of tall wheat in
late July. There it mingled with the tails of winter clouds as they stretched across
the canopy of our world. The light from his eyes was as glorious as the dawn of a
new day. His gaze was as strong as the towering oaks and as sweet as a field of
wild flowers after a spring rain. It looked like all of creation laughed and loved
within his gaze. There was so much glory emanating from his countenance, it was
nearly impossible to look upon him. Across the bottom, under the drawing, were
the words and letters, ‘Ego sum Dominus sum ego.’" (Length of Days - The Age
of Silence, pg 291

Or, it may have been the following paragraph, from page 51, where the character, Christiana, describes the Holy Spirit.
"I was overwhelmed with all the new information, but maybe I already knew.
Something or someone had been tugging at my heart for months as I read the
old books. It was a force that was strong enough to call to me from the pages of
man’s writing and move within my being, like a fog that overtakes a meadow of
wild flowers and blankets it, while doing no harm, then leaves a light, nourishing
mist on the surface of all that lives there."

Whichever one he showed me, I started reading it and said, "I don’t think . . ."

"Yes, you did," he laughed. "You wrote it."

Then I looked at a paragraph above and found these words, "There," Grand-père’s voice rang out with might and power . . ." Then I knew, "Oh, yes, it is," I remembered. "There’s Grand-père."

In all fairness to my memory, I have written four other books since Length of Days was published nearly two years ago, including the second book in that trilogy. But written words can be like spoken words. Once written or spoken, we move on without much thought about their impact others.

I often wonder, "What words of mine do people remember?" I know, some days, when nothing is going right, my words are . . . less than positive . . . less then pleasing to me, so I know they less than pleasing to God. Then, every once in a while, someone will say, "Dr. Rapp, I remember when you said . . . ," and I cringed when I wonder what on earth I had said that time. Occasionally, someone will lift up words I have said or written that have had a special meaning to them and I know, it wasn’t me, it was Him.

Every song we sang in the church service yesterday had lyrics about living for God, in His favor, for His purposes. My heart swelled with His presence, and I knew, when He gives me words that flow from my fingers onto the keyboard, they are still HIS words. Life is not truly lived unless it is lived for Him. We don’t have to go halfway around the world to serve Him. Service is an attitude of the heart, not a measure of miles we have traveled. That attitude begins with, "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer." If you haven’t done anything today but lifted a friend out of the depths of despair with your words of encouragement, isn’t that enough? Let us pray:

"Holy Father, your words are so powerful, you spoke the world into spinning. Holy are you. I choose to give all to you. Words have the power to create, to uplift, to put down, to give life and to condemn and kill. From this day on, Father, I want the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, to be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. Forgive me when I have used words in hurtful ways. I give my words to you Father, not with my own power to surrender, but with the grace and help of your son, my savior, Jesus, I pray. Amen"

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

Length of Days - The Age of Silence can be ordered from any bookstore, or on line at www.cokesbury.com, www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com. It is available in paperback and eBook.

Length of Days - Beyond the Valley, the second in the Length of Days trilogy, will be out late in the fall, 2014. It will be available in paperback and eBook.

BUT, FOR TODAY . . .

"For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light." Colossians 1:9-12 (NIV)

"Oh . . . you know . . . I’m getting older . . . I don’t do much anymore." How many times have you heard this whining statement, or one just like it?"

God intended for you to live every day of your life. I could say, "I’m not twenty-five. Maybe I shouldn’t write all the books I publish. After all, I may only live another twenty-five or thirty years."

None of us know how many days we will live. But, for today — I pray that you will live every second of this day, in deepest prayer, so that you may be filled with the knowledge of God. Even when we are very old, and cannot go where we would like to go without the help of others, we can use our days in prayer that the blessings of God may fall upon us and others.

My friend, you are not done, no matter how old you are. You may be a new graduate who can’t find work — you will. God will bless you. It may not be according to your own dictates, but just think of the adventure you will have, when it is God’s will in which you are living!

For this day . . . live every minute of it! Let us pray:

"Father God, lover of my soul, creator of all there is, I bow before your holy name. I pray that this may be the first day of my life lived for you. Use me in any way that will complete your plan, for me and for others. Forgive me when I have been headstrong and have tried to create a better mission for me to follow than you could design for me. How foolish I was. I give my life over to you that I may live each day fully, filled with your knowledge and joy, that I may ‘share in the inheritance of [your] holy people in the kingdom of light.’ In the name of, and by the power of, your precious son and my redeemer, Jesus, I pray. Amen"

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

Smoke from Distant Fires and Length of Days - The Age of Silence are available at www.cokesbury.com, www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com or order from a bookstore

Website: www.dorisgainesrapp.com

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