Terri Roberts was sitting on the patio when she heard sirens and helicopters in the distance. As she normally did when she heard the sirens, Terri prayed for the responders, finished her lunch and returned to work. Moments later she received a phone call from her husband. Come to Charlie’s house now.
Driving to her 32 year old son’s house she heard the report of 10 girls shot in the nearby Amish school. When Terri arrived at the house, she saw her husband speaking to a state trooper. Her first question…is Charlie alive? NO.
It was October 2, 2006, Terri’s son had just shot 10 Amish school girls and then took his own life. Five of the girls were dead, five injured and one would forever be a paraplegic. Bitter at God over his wife’s miscarriage, Terri’s son had directed his rage towards these young girls.
What goes through the mind of a mother who finds their child responsible for such a tragedy? How would you react?
Terri went home later that day and collapsed into a fetal position. Her husband buried his head in a towel crying so hard that he injured the skin on his face!
Something happened that night in the Roberts’ home. An Amish neighbor came over to offer his love and comfort. Terri witnessed this “Angel Dressed in Black”—the Amish are known for their customary black clothing—consoling her husband. Their visitor reassuringly said, ‘Roberts, we love you,’ and immediately she knew that her husband would heal.
Bernard Meltzer says, “When you forgive, you in no way change the past—but you sure do change the future.”
That night Terri Roberts and her husband were introduced to the greatest gift imaginable—forgiveness—the power to live another day!
One of the real challenges that stands as a mountain before a person is the delay of their dreams. It is difficult for people to deal with time, they expect solutions instantly. They want it now, not five minutes from now!
This time expectation is most acute and unique to American society. They are inventors of fast food because it is believed that fast is always better! Now, let me help you understand time. God has no time frame that controls Him. The whole spectrum of time is always laid before Him, so He does not experience time as a limiter.
Faith is what He has given us to enter into the reality that He lives in.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Faith is the quality of a human being that allows us to see and be happy about our answer now. We are not waiting for the physical manifestation to be happy, or fulfilled, or confident. We enjoy what we believe as if we had the things we believe for now in our possession. What does this do for us?
It puts eternity into our heart!
What we have received as our inheritance from God is ours right now. Get happy about it and you will see it!
Scripture: Hebrews 11:1
Today we continue with the last three questions to help you discipline and inspire the creativity in your heart:
Fourth: How do you create? Ponder these questions: Are you an avid reader? Do you enjoy researching your subject? Get busy absorbing and discovering ideas for your creative passion!
Fifth: Who helps you create? Do you work best when collaborating with others? Does a team stimulate your creativity? What talented individuals have you included in your creative process?
Sixth: Where do you best create? To answer this question let’s briefly review our CULTIVATE YOUR CREATIVITY series:
Your Environment can stimulate Creativity: Your 5 senses are a great gateway for creativity!
Adversity can be a Catalyst for your Creativity: Remember, having problems is not the issue, but thinking your life should be without problems is…
Next, recognize that the Power of a Positive Thought can open your future to bright possibilities!
Acknowledge that Creativity Is a Cognitive Thought Process: You can develop discipline of thought to master your creativity.
Remember: Stimulate Your Creativity to ACTION. A sense of urgency will motivate your creativity! Times of crisis can cultivate your creativity!
Why do you create? When do you create? What do you create? How do you create and where do you create? Answering these questions can ultimately alter your attitude toward creativity!
Creativity requires both inspiration and discipline. Today and tomorrow we will be looking at some questions for you to consider. Take a sheet of paper and jot down your thoughts and responses:
First: Why do you create? What is your purpose? Do you create for the applause of the crowd? Or to be the center of attention? Certainly, the attention will fade and focus will be redirected towards someone else.
Second: What are your creating? This is where your project begins and where practicality adds definition to your creativity. Value your ideas. Record your thoughts. Celebrate small milestones! Go to my Live Your Dream series to help YOU further develop your dream!
Third: When do you create? Many people wait for a moment of inspiration to create. Professional writers know that each day they must create. Professionals work to deadline – NOT to pleasure!
REMEMBER: YOU create the habit and the repetition forms the creativity. Ask yourself what habits of creativity work best for you? Do you find yourself most creative in the morning or in the evening? The Bottom Line: Know your own body rhythms and develop disciplines that support your creativity!
Perhaps today you are experiencing grief or a sense of loss; I want you to know that God is right there with you! My father and I were very close, and throughout my life he was a voice of wisdom and clarity. I remember him telling me, after many years of suffering from debilitating illness, that he was tired and ready to go on to the next life. He had called every family member, making sure that each knew Jesus as their personal Savior. He felt my mother would be ok and could take care of herself. I remember thinking how odd it was that he was telling me all of this. My father passed away just a few days later.
I don’t know what you are walking through right now, but I do know there is one who will walk with you and give you the hope you need. The scriptures say, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
I also recall many weeks later, God opened heaven and I had an awareness of my father smiling and a knowledge that he was in a much better place. As I spoke to the audience that day, I remember crying great tears of God’s love for the people who were listening…for them to know that they could face anything in life, and even death, if they had a hope in the future!
Have you ever felt discouraged? Have you ever felt unsure of what to do? Are there times you just feel like giving up? Like you’re being thrown into the fire with nowhere to run and no escape?
One of the great stories of scripture talks about three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who were thrown into a fire for refusing to worship the King’s idols. These three men had been honored and promoted as wise sages throughout Babylonia. Learning of their refusal to bow to his idols, the king offered them a second chance. Again they refused, this time saying, “even if we are thrown into your blazing furnace, oh King, the God we serve will deliver us from your Majesty’s hand.”
Infuriated by their response, the king had the execution fire built 7 times hotter—so hot that as the soldiers approached the furnace to throw in the three bound men, they themselves were burned to death. As the King stared into the furnace, he suddenly shouted, “there are four men in the fire, not three—and the fourth looks like an angel of God!” At that moment, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego walked from the fire unharmed and without even the smell of smoke on their clothing!
I believe HOPE is a supernatural God-given empowerment. Hope is not just a good feeling; it is a force that produces strength for the journey. You are possibly facing your own fiery challenge or affliction. Hope allows you to turn your trials into smiles.
For nearly a year, Magda Herzberger struggled to survive the daily terrors and psychological torture in three of Adolph Hitler’s concentration camps. According to the Grand Canyon University interview, though forced to “gather corpses,” she resisted the draw of suicide and instead relied on God for the hope to outlive the Nazi death machine.
Growing up in the home of a respected international businessman, Magda was exposed to music, sports and languages, learning German, French, and Latin. She was cultivating her dream to go to medical school when the Nazis swept across Romania.
She vividly recalls the day the Hungarian Secret Police knocked at the door and began collecting families at gunpoint. As her family was being trucked away, her father arrived home and willingly joined them. She remembers her father’s warm tears falling on her head, as they were being transported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. She can still hear the dreadful cries and hopeless whispers of strangers packed into train cars without food or even a toilet for the terrifying journey.
Magda said, “Regardless of what I experienced in those camps, and all those terrible things, I’m still a loving and forgiving person.” I would ask, how can it be possible to remain a loving and forgiving person after being kidnapped, tormented, imprisoned and forced to watch mass murder? As she prayed in her silent moments in the camp, Magda knew in her heart that God could help her make it out alive. She said, “I think my great trust in God was my source of survival.”
What is hope? Hope is the picture of the future or the thing desired. The dictionary says, “it is a wish or desire accompanied by confident expectation of its fulfillment.” Robert H. Schuller, said, “Let your hopes, not your hurts, shape your future.”
For Magda, her hope in God—her confidence that He would help her stay strong through the storm—gave her strength for her journey. I want to encourage someone today, do not allow anyone or anything to steal your hope! Magda Herzberger went on to fulfill her dream of becoming a doctor, and today at age 90 she is still sharing her story of hope in the midst of tragedy. You can experience that same hope today!
In 2006 we were conducting meetings in Puerto Rico. One particular medical doctor noticed that his patients were being healed and took great interest in the miracles. Even though he was initially skeptical, he realized our emphasis on people connecting with Jesus would bring freedom from stress, and often people didn’t even recognize they were healed! God’s peace had entered their spirit, soul and bodies, and with His presence came healing.
This doctor told us that of the female patients he treats, many convince themselves that they are sick. Interestingly, often when running the required tests to identify a problem, he finds nothing. Yet in a matter of a few weeks or months, the same patients will return with evidence of the illnesses they were convinced already existed.
Research shows that DNA actually changes shape according to our thoughts. As you think negative thoughts, toxic thinking re-wires your brain in a negative direction, forcing your mind and body into stress. On the contrary, every positive thought releases life-giving chemicals. Imagine what the brain does when you smell a rose or look at a beautiful picture, or when you read the word of God! Jesus is called the “Prince of Peace,” and when an individual receives His life into their spirit His presence fills them—often driving out sicknesses and disease.
Did you know that the majority of sickness plaguing the world today results from chronic illness and not infectious disease? Chronic Disease is defined as a long-lasting condition that can be controlled but not cured. Chronic illness is a worldwide problem. As described by the Centers for Disease Control, chronic disease is the leading cause of death and disability in the United States.
Lee Jong-Wook, former Director General of the World Health Organization, stated in a 2005 report that of a projected 58 million deaths in 2005, approximately 35 million or 60% would be the result of chronic disease. He also projected those staggering figures to increase by another 17% by the year 2015.
Come to Jesus today and give Him your weaknesses, fears, cares and sicknesses. The scriptures say, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.” Wherever you are today, I want you to know that God is with you—and He hears you right now!
Scriptures: Acts 10:38
A woman from Congo-Brazzaville was plagued by severe migraines. On the day she attended one of our public meetings, a rain storm suddenly rolled in. While most of the crowd fled for cover, this woman pushed closer to the platform, refusing to leave.
My husband, who was speaking at the time, made the decision to continue solely because of her. After the meeting this woman couldn’t wait to talk to us. She said, ”With each rain drop that fell tonight the pain lessened in my head. I was desperate! I could not go on living this way any longer. When the rain came down it was like a cool, healing balm from heaven. The pain, fear and depression all vanished. I was going to take my life tonight if the pain did not leave!”
Though plagued by a chronic condition, this woman instantly found new life! What did she do? She brought her problem to Jesus. She was determined to get her healing. Like the woman in scripture with the chronic blood disease, she said to herself she was going to get what she needed! Jesus said “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Scripture: Matt 11:28 (NIV)
