Power of Prayer

Posted on August 19, 2026 by Arrow

“But it is good for me to draw near to God;
I have put my trust in the Lord GOD,
That I may declare all Your works” (Psalm 73:28 NKJV).

Today, I must share one of God’s recent works! A teacher friend texted requesting prayer for healing for a student’s younger sister. The little girl was in ICU. A blood vessel had burst in her brain, causing two bleeds. She had no mobility, was unable to hold a conversation, and barely recognized her family.

Fervent prayers went up for this precious child. Nine days later, we received very different news. The youngster had made a miraculous recovery and was to start school that day!

Incredible! Let’s never underestimate the power of prayer. Praise God! He hears, heals, and helps. He’s just waiting for us to come to Him in faith and ask.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more that all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20 NIV).

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Go to the Source

Posted on August 12, 2026 by Arrow

In the early morning hours after sending last week’s “Wednesday Whisper,” I found myself asking, “So, Lord, do You have any ideas for next wee…?” I couldn’t even finish my thought. The absurdity of wondering if the Creator of all had one little idea for me made me smile.

God made us to be like Him, having the ability to reason and create, but we also have our limitations. When stuck, we can always go to the Source!

Jeremiah, the prophet, wrote, “This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth … ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know’” (Jeremiah 33:2-3 NIV).

All we have to do is call. And listen. Talk to the Lord in prayer. And listen. Read His Word—the Bible. And listen. There we will find strength, direction, peace, hope, encouragement, and much more.

May we go to the Source for the unsearchable and go forward with the help of the Creator.

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HOLD ON!

Posted on August 5, 2026 by Arrow

School begins with youngsters nervously squeezing their parent’s hand and sometimes being tearfully transferred to their teacher’s hand. Classrooms are filled again with students taught or reminded to raise their hands. And all school staff members need a helping hand.

As we reach out to new hands this week or perhaps face a new challenge, whose hand will we hold on to? Or better yet, who is holding our hand?

Here are a pair of verses to hang on to this week:

“Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

“For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand,
Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you’” (Isaiah 41:10, 13 NKJV).

May you experience help from the Lord as you hang on to Him.

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God Makes a Way

Posted on July 29, 2026 by Arrow

Imagine a gameboard. You move your character along the path and suddenly, you are sent back to “Start.” In real life, detours and construction zones block the way we want to go.

Life has similar setbacks, surprises, and delayed dreams.

Think about Israel. They were set free from Pharaoh and were following Moses out of Egypt. Then their road dead ended into the Red Sea! What?! They started to turn around but saw Pharoah’s army coming to return them to Egypt. Oh no!

We know that feeling … a least a little. This is when we hopefully turn to God—the God who makes a way.

A psalmist records Israel’s situation:
 “Your road led through the sea,
    your pathway through the mighty waters—
    a pathway no one knew was there!
You led your people along that road like a flock of sheep,
    with Moses and Aaron as their shepherds” (Psalm 77:19-20 NLT).

Don’t you love that God put a pathway “no one knew was there”? It reminds me of an old song, “God Will Make a Way,” by Don Moen that says:
“God will make a way where there seems to be no way.
He works in ways we cannot see, He will make a way for me.
He will be my guide, hold me closely to His side.
With love and strength for each new day, He will make a way.”

God did it for Israel and He will do it for His children still. It may not happen on our timetable or the direction we thought. But He will make a way. Remember, He is also the Good Shepherd who leads His flock to the best places. The question is, will we follow?

Check out Patrick Mayberry’s song, “Lead On Good Shepherd,” and be encouraged: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jt_m86E8gE.

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God Waits for Us

Posted on July 22, 2026 by Arrow

You and a friend talk about getting together . . . and then you wait for their text. Nothing. You wonder what’s wrong. Did you offend them? Did they really not want to get together? Finally, you brave a text and ask about meeting up. Funny thing is, they were thinking the same thing! Two people waiting for the other to take action.

I was reminded recently that we do the same thing with God. I hadn’t really thought about it before—that the waiting can happen both ways. Typically, I focus on myself. I ruminate and list and pray about all the things I am waiting for God to do or provide.

Then I heard the song “Wait For Me” by Zach Williams. He sings about how God waits for us even if we take the long way home.

Perhaps my extra “wait time” is because God is waiting for me to do something. Thank the Lord, He is gracious and patient. Isaiah 30:18 says,

“So the Lord must wait for you to come to him
    so he can show you his love and compassion.
For the Lord is a faithful God.
    Blessed are those who wait for his help” (NLT).

Actually, this verse demonstrates that both God and His people wait and both take action. Nice!

Another verse portrays God’s loving patience in waiting for people to turn to Him for salvation. “The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent” (2 Peter 3:9 NLT). What love!

The next time we find ourselves waiting on God, let’s remember, perhaps He is waiting on us.

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Aligning Heart and Actions

Posted on July 15, 2026 by Arrow

The teenager made their bed. At least it looked like it from the doorway. The comforter was spread out and pillows were posed. But a lift of the top layer exposed chaos—a sheet and blanket left in tangles.

Oddly enough, that’s what I thought of as I recalled the story of Jesus’ encounter with a rich, young man. The guy asked Jesus what He needed to do to receive eternal life. Jesus answered that he should obey the commandments and then listed commands about how to relate with others, like don’t commit adultery or steal, and love your neighbor as yourself.

Well, this man was quite pleased with himself. He told Jesus he had kept all those commands. But Jesus knew the man’s heart. His performance looked good on the outside, but inside, the rich man loved money.

When the man asked Jesus what else he should do, Jesus told him to give away his riches and follow Him. The story ends with, “But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions” (Matthew 19:22 NLT).

Sometimes, a person hears and knows God’s Word but doesn’t follow through with doing it. Other times, as in this story, a person demonstrates acts of obedience without having a right attitude of the heart or sincere motives.

It reminds me of the religious leaders in Jesus’ day. Jesus called them hypocrites because they demonstrated religious behavior like long prayers and fasting but their motives were to impress others rather than out of love for God.

In one of Jesus’ sermons, He taught “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart” (Luke 6:45 NLT).

Let’s aim to have a good heart with right attitudes and motives and follow through with God-pleasing actions.

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The Rapture or Alien Abduction?

Posted on July 8, 2026 by Arrow

What is happening? Where is common sense? Deception is rampant. Online lurkers look to lure and lead you to line up with their latest illusion. Besides attempting to rewrite history, some are taking a stab at staging future events as science fiction!

The topic: the Rapture. The Apostle Paul described the event this way. “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 NIV). In a blink, all true believers will be gone from this earth and in the presence of Jesus.

What will those left on earth think happened? How will it be spun in the media? What could be a possible explanation?

Some people left behind will be familiar enough with Scripture to identify the global mass exodus of Christians as the Rapture. Others will believe the ridiculous, perhaps a hint of the tale I heard spun—that those missing Christians were abducted by aliens in order to reset their misguided brains.

Wow! Some people will believe anything! And we shouldn’t be surprised. Hear Paul’s warnings:

  • “Evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Timothy 3:13 ESV).
  • “Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ” (Colossians 2:8 NLT). 

Instead, “Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth” (Ephesians 6:14 NLT).

Let’s be seekers and speakers of truth … and ready to rise!

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A Nation Called to Repentance

Posted on July 1, 2026 by Arrow

This week the United States will celebrate its 250th anniversary of independence, the day our Declaration of Independence was adopted and approved. Congratulations!

Independence is a great thing when used properly. Other times, independence is taken advantage of, exploited. The same freedom used to produce significant good, can also wreak havoc and spiral into sin-filled living.

This happened repeatedly in Scripture. Nations would backslide, rebel against God, and engage in perverse behavior. Many times, God would then raise up a prophet or king to call the nation to repentance.

Old Testament prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah called out a nation’s idolatry and hypocrisy. They pleaded for God’s people to acknowledge their sin, stop doing evil, and return to God.

God also used kings like Hezekiah and Josiah to encourage nations to get back on track, repent or turn from doing wrong, and live according to God’s standards.

Today, America needs a wakeup call, a call to turn to God and live right. A call to repent of our rebellious, evil ways, and put our trust and faith in God.

How does that begin? With us … with me. May we confess our wrongdoing, admit we need God’s forgiveness, believe that Jesus died for our sins, and accept His gift of salvation. May we repent, or turn from our old way of living, and strive to live a life that pleases God.

After king Solomon, David’s son, completed building the Temple, God appeared to him saying, “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14 NLT). 

Our part: Humbly pray, seek the Lord, and live right.

God’s part: Hear, forgive, and restore.

May God restore America as we draw near to Him.

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Responding to God in Relationship

Posted on June 24, 2026 by Arrow

Think: Adam and Eve. In the garden. Before sin. Doing life in perfect harmony with God.

After Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, Scripture states, “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day” (Genesis 3:8a NIV).

First, notice who Adam and Eve heard. The “LORD God.” As the book of Genesis opens, we find the Creator referred to as “God” as in “God created …”. But in Genesis 2:4, just before God forms Adam from the dust, a new title appropriately pops up—the “LORD God,” indicating an intimate and personal relationship.

Even after their sin, God came to seek out and be with His children. And He continues to desire a restored relationship with us today.

  • The disciple John shared Jesus’ teachings, “As it is written in the Scriptures, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me” (John 6:45 NLT).
  • The apostle Paul said, “He called you to salvation when we told you the Good News” (2 Thessalonians 2:14a NLT). Paul also wrote, “[God] has invited you into partnership with his Son” (1 Corinthians 1:9b NLT).
  • In Revelation 3:20, Jesus encourages believers saying, “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends” (NLT).
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

God is speaking. Are we listening? Have we heard the Good News? Answered the call to salvation and accepted Jesus as Savior? Do we hear God’s invitation to have a relationship with Jesus?

Is He knocking on the door of your heart? Will you answer?

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Practicing Humility

Posted on June 17, 2026 by Arrow

I was so proud of my homemade peach pie made from our homegrown peaches. Before serving it, I held it high making sure everyone saw the masterpiece I created.

Later, I felt that little God-twinge, the Holy Spirit correcting me. I wasn’t exactly reflecting an attitude of humility now, was I. Apparently, it was time for some humble pie. (Below is someone else’s online photo.)

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

Humility is a tough lesson to learn. Like most of Christ’s characteristics, it takes a lot of trial and error.

The book of Philippians includes a beautiful example of humility as demonstrated by Jesus. Before he begins, Paul reminds believers “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5 NIV). Then Paul details what ultimate humility looks like.

  • Even though Jesus was fully God, He “made himself nothing” (2:6-7a).
  • Jesus became human, having the nature of a servant (2:7b).
  • As a man, Jesus died a criminal’s death on a cross (2:8).

That doesn’t even include Jesus’ humble attitude and responses to all the horrible things said and done to Him during His ministry. Did Jesus boast about healing others, feeding thousands, or raising the dead? Never. He was not one to crave the limelight. When put on the spot by religious leaders and Pilate, He remained silent or spoke very little. His purpose was to bring glory to His heavenly Father and do the work He was sent to do. Simply put, Jesus put others above Himself as seen when He died for our sins.

Being humble is countercultural. God’s Word encourages us with this.

  • “Be completely humble and gentle” (Ephesians 4:2a).
  • “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up” (James 4:10).

May the Lord help us be humble.

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