Seeing the amount of snow that some areas of Nova Scotia received recently reminded me that we have seen very little snow in southern Quebec this winter. I am not complaining because it has made driving much easier than during most winters.
Thank you for praying for those who listen to the weekly messages of Pastor Michel Martel, the speaker of “La Voix de l’Évangile” since 1984. He is currently speaking on the subject “Never Give Up” which is an important reminder to put our trust in the Lord. People will disappoint us, but God always keeps His promises, including the one cited in “Scripture for the weekend.”
Please pray for Jean-Pierre, who lives in Montreal. He phoned this week and told me that he lost more than 30 pounds recently. He has struggled with his mental health for many years.
In “God Is With You Every Day” Max Lucado writes:
“Some years ago I underwent a heart procedure. My heartbeat had the regularity of a telegraph operator sending Morse code. Fast, fast, fast. Slooooow. After several failed attempts to restore healthy rhythm with medication, my doctor decided I should have a catheter ablation. The plan went like this: a cardiologist would insert two cables in my heart. One was a camera; the other was an ablation tool. To ablate is to burn. Yes, burn, cauterize, singe, brand. If all went well, the doctor, to use his coinage, would destroy the ‘misbehaving’ parts of my heart.
As I was being wheeled into surgery, he asked if I had any final questions … I tried to be witty. ‘As long as you are in there, could you take your little blowtorch to some of my greed, selfishness, superiority, and guilt?’
He smiled and answered, ‘Sorry, that’s out of my pay grade.’ Indeed it was, but it’s not out of God’s. He is in the business of changing hearts.
We would be wrong to think this change happens overnight. But we would be equally wrong to assume change never happens at all. It may come in fits and spurts. But it comes … The floodgates are open, and the water is out. You just never know when grace will seep in.”
Praise the Lord for His wonderful love and grace, as the apostle Paul wrote in his epistle to Titus: “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly …” (Titus 2:11-12).
Scripture for the weekend: “Let your way of life be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you’” Hebrews 13:5 (NASB)
Thought for the weekend: “When you’re up to your neck in hot water, be like a teapot and start to sing.” – from “Bless the Lord, O My Soul: 365 Devotions for Prayer and Worship” published by Our Daily Bread Ministries
Steve