Recently, I had one of those mornings where my plans were rendered asunder which is fancy talk for my day didn’t go as I had thought that it would. Earlier in the morning I was online, going through my emails, deleting spam comments from WordPress and posting links to Twitter. Without warning my internet connection gave out and, despite my going through all the steps to reconnect, nothing worked. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Nothing.

Needless to say I was frustrated. Even angry. I had a full day of work ahead of me and I knew that at some point I was going to have to stop my work, pick up our youngest son from school and return home. Another interruption in my busy day. “Problem loading page,” was the message. Ugh.

I would love to tell you that I prayed my way through this problem, but I didn’t. Instead, I grew increasingly tense, frustrated and snapped at the cat who decided that the time for her to rub up against my leg had arrived. Wrong. Thankfully, my kids were not around or at least they weren’t in my line of fire.

With no internet connection I realized that I wouldn’t be able to complete my research for the articles I was writing. Funny, it wasn’t too many years ago that all of my research materials were offline. At the library. Or in a magazine I subscribed to. I can’t remember when I last set foot in our local public library. At least I still subscribe to a handful of magazines.

Thankfully, the Lord soon brought me to my senses. I picked up my study notes and looked over a sermon that our pastor had preached a few weeks ago: When Good Meets Evil. Using Luke 8:26-39 for his text, Pastor Rodney examined the account of the man possessed by demons — a legion of them — which means that he had more than six thousand ghoulish fiends within him. This man was under the brutal control of darkness, frequently cutting himself, running around naked, crying out like the mad man that he was, and living a tormented life among the dead.

Everyone was afraid of the demon possessed man, but not Jesus. The demons within him knew who Jesus was and begged that they wouldn’t be thrown in the abyss. Instead, they asked Jesus to permit them to possess a nearby herd of swine, a request Jesus granted. As the story goes the demons immediately took up residence in the swine who rushed maddeningly down a hill, plunged into the water and drowned.

As for the formerly demon possessed man, he was now in his right mind and wanted to follow Jesus. However, Jesus told him to stay around because everyone knew who the “crazy man” was – imagine what sort of living testimony this new follower was to the local community!

Which brings me to my point – are you being driven by the devil or led by the Lord? Sure, we’re Christians which means we always do the right thing, am I right? Not a chance. Our kids don’t cooperate, our bosses make an unreasonable demand, our computers fail to connect to the internet….life weighs in and sometimes we don’t respond in the way that we should.

And yet, Jesus still beckons us to follow him, laying aside the urgency of the moment and the tyranny of the devil who would push us in a direction we know that we shouldn’t go.

Be led by Jesus the Good Shepherd today – the world, your flesh and the devil want to drive you, but your spirit is eager to allow God to lead you to a peaceful and restful place.

Photo Credit: Elly Kellner

Popularity: 6% [?]

The 2009 Operation Christmas Child shoe box campaign is essentially underway, with tens of thousands of people already shopping for items that will soon fill boxes destined for children in faraway lands. Indeed, this year’s campaign runs from November 16-23rd in the US (Canada, Nov. 16-21) with upwards of eight million boxes expected to be packed.

Big Heart

For one 84-year-old New York resident and Purple Heart recipient, his contribution this year staggers the imagination: Reggie Petersen plans to pack at least 1000 boxes!

“Doing this project just lifts me up and gives me energy. I love people, and I have a special place in my heart for kids,” said Reggie, who has been participating in Operation Christmas Child for 11 years. “I was in Germany during World War II and saw a lot of kids with nothing. It really had an impact on me and made me want to do things to help them.”

Reggie has been packing shoe boxes for eleven years now and, with the help of his daughter Cathy, Reggie and his family have packed more than 7700 shoe box gifts over the years.

“When we load up trucks and bring the shoe box gifts to the collection center each November, I just sit there and think, wow, did God really use us to do all of that? It’s just remarkable. You have to see it to believe it,” said Reggie.

Selling Collectibles

Reggie and his daughter make their endeavor a year ’round ministry a big part of which is to search for bargains and deep discounts, accepting financial contributions from friends too. In addition, Reggie buys and sells collectible bottles and refurbished golf clubs, using those proceeds for Operation Christmas Child as well.

“When we load up trucks and bring the shoe box gifts to the collection center each November, I just sit there and think, wow, did God really use us to do all of that? It’s just remarkable. You have to see it to believe it,” said Reggie. Added Reggie’s daughter, Cathy Wood, “I was never able to have a child of my own, but thanks to this project I don’t have just one or two kids – I have more than 7,000.”

More Information

Operation Christmas Child, a project of international relief and evangelism organization Samaritan’s Purse, headed by Franklin Graham, uses whatever means necessary – ships, trucks, buses, trains, airplanes, helicopters, boats, camels, even dog sleds – to reach suffering children. For many of these children, the shoe box gift will be the first gift they have ever received, letting them know they are loved and not forgotten.

Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has hand-delivered shoe box gifts to more than 69 million hurting children in more than 130 countries.

For more information on how to participate in Operation Christmas Child, call (828) 262-1980 or visit www.samaritanspurse.org.

Popularity: 5% [?]

WordJourney Magazine is active on Twitter, in fact Matt Keegan operates three accounts on this popular social media microblogging site. Matt’s other accounts deal with his writing and automotive industry work, while his Twitter WordJourney account reflects what he writes here on there.

Importantly, Matt enjoys retweeting what others have to say especially if he can help out a ministry, someone in need, sharing an encouraging word.

So, why use Twitter? For a number of reasons including:

Connect with other believers. Yes, our face to face time with fellow Christians is still important. In fact, we should be gathering together regularly as outlined in Hebrews 10:25 “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Your local body needs you and you need them. Still, it is certainly nice when like minded people tweet together too!

Share the gospel. For the most part, Matt connects with other believers. However, a number of people are not so selective, seeking to interact with those Twitter users who aren’t following the Lord. A well timed tweet, a sensitive word could minister to one of Jesus’ wayward sheep.

Inform others. This is the single, biggest reason why WordJourney has a presence on Twitter: to inform other Christians as to what is going on out there. Matt has been concentrating on letting believers know what is going on with the persecuted church, sharing ministry news, forwarding prayer requests, and more. Sometimes this world can be a lonely place, especially for those who are isolated, often not at their own choosing – “Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.” (Hebrews 13:3)

Have fun. In this entertainment crazy world, a little tweeting can go a long way. Seek the Lord on how best to use Twitter for his glory as well as your personal enjoyment. Like any, Twitter can become a time waster, but it can also be used to advance God’s kingdom. Ask the Lord to guide you.

As always, WordJourney thanks you for stopping by. Feel free to leave a comment, ask a question or share a tweet.

Adv. – You can help Operation Christmas Child make a difference in the life of a young child. Pack a shoe box filled with goodies and Samaritan’s Purse will see to it that a youngster is reached in the name of Jesus Christ thanks to your faithfulness! Don’t wait, the 2009 campaign is under way from November 16-23.

Popularity: 5% [?]