HSBC Coffeebreak

But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.
II Samuel 12:23

My brother and his wife lost their two year old son several years ago to meningitis. He had an ear infection, but was on medication. He also appeared to be feeling well. During the night, he developed a high fever and was taken to the doctor. After many tests, they found he did have meningitis. The doctor was sure the medication would take care of it. As the day went on, he became worse, and by early evening they could tell that he was in severe pain. Late that evening, we were told that he had passed away.

We made the trip to Kansas and after the chapel services, we went to the cemetery for the burial. My brother chose to speak at the cemetery, using II Samuel 12:23. My husband, who had been saved a short time, told my brother that he didn’t know how he did that! His reply to that was, “I didn’t; it was the Lord that helped me through this!”

His prayer after his son’s death was that if one person came to know the Lord through his death, the blessing would be worth it! He found out many years later that after the death of a good friend, his friend’s son came to know the Lord! He told my brother he never forgot the Scripture that was used at the cemetery! How faithful is our God! I’m sure my brother never stopped praying for that man, and he saw the fruits of his prayers!

This reminds me of one of our Pastor’s sermons. We should never stop praying for our family and friends who do not know Jesus as their Savior! At the time, I remember thinking about my nephew being in heaven with his grandma! What a wonderful time is waiting for us!

Written by
Delma Lebien

HSBC Coffeebreak

Enter through the narrow gate…For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Matthew 7:13, 14

Yesterday, my grandson said something that stung. He called me closed minded. That upset me because I’m not closed minded. So I prayed about it and the Lord reminded me of an incident that happened back in the ‘70’s. I had to look up the Scripture.

My husband, Jerry, and I were refurbishing a hundred year old house in Utah. His oldest daughter, Anne, and her husband, Greg, were spending the summer helping us. Anne was misguided in her beliefs regarding her Salvation and Greg was a Pantheist, universe and God is equivalent, or Atheism for nature lovers. I was looking forward to sharing the saving grace of Christ. For the first time, I was feeling the sting of loved ones rejecting Jesus. I was not popular.

I was on the ladder, scraping the 6 coats of paint off the 3ft thick window casements listening to Greg tell me about his life experiences and why he chose to believe in Pantheism. He was an ex-Green Beret who had what he believed to be a “born again” experience on the battlefield in Vietnam. My heart broke for this sweet young man who had seen such horror. I felt he was ready to hear what being “born again” really meant. After sharing the love story of Jesus, I was unprepared for his response.

Full of rage, he shouted at me from below, “You are the most narrow-minded person I have ever had the misfortune to meet. You are like a stupid old horse with blinders on to keep it on the road and at the end of that road all you can see is this man, Jesus!” My gut wrenched and hot tears rolled down my face as I fought back the anger of being spoken to so disrespectfully. In a flash, I suddenly realized I had succeeded. I climbed down the ladder, embraced him and said, “Thank you, Greg. No one has ever paid me a higher compliment. This man at the end of that road is indeed my Savior.”

Sometimes our Lord is incredibly prompt in answering prayer. This was one of those times. I explained to my grandson the difference between being closed-minded and narrow-minded and was able to read Matthew 7:13 & 14 to him.
The narrow road can be difficult, but remember who waits at the end of it. Telling others the great love story is worth every insult we may receive. Let the tears flow! I have since learned Jerry is born again.

Written by
JoAnn Shelton

HSBC Coffeebreak

Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
2 Corinthians 9:7

I love God's little reminders that He sends via Christian radio. As I listened one morning while getting ready for my day, I heard the great story of Chad. Chad is 8 years old, and he doesn't realize he's not going to win the Mr. Congeniality Award at his school. He walks to and from school alone, greets the kids and teachers with a happy "good morning" or "have a great day", and every day his mom prays that one day he'll return home with some friends. But Chad is different and she knows it; she just wishes popularity was based on kindness.

One day, Chad bounds in and announces that he's going to make a Valentine for every child in his class. Valentine's Day is just 6 weeks away, so this seemed a daunting task to his mom. Without discouraging Chad, she hoped he'd soon forget, because it would take so much work and dedication, and she was sure Chad wouldn't get many in return. "How about if we make heart sugar cookies instead, and we can frost them and you can lick the bowl?" Or "why don't we bake cupcakes with red frosting?" "No, mom, I'm going to make a Valentine for every friend in my class, and I counted and there are 32. Can we go get our supplies tonight?"

She thought of every way to change his mind because she couldn't bear to think of how hurt he would feel when he didn’t get a Valentine from everyone. But he persisted, and every night they worked on a few together. "Oh mom, this one will be perfect for Lily! And I can't wait to see the look on Jeff's face when he gets this one." Her heart just sank.

The night before Valentine's Day, they packaged up the homemade cards and that morning, Chad left for school with a bigger bounce in his step than ever before. "Bye mom! You can bet I'll be smiling when I get home from school tonight! Have a great day!"

Once Chad left, she baked his favorite cookies so they'd make him feel better after this heartbreaking day. The hours went by so slowly, and finally Chad came running through the door. "How was your day Chad? I baked your favorite cookies and they're still warm." Chad looked happier than she'd ever seen him, with his head in the clouds. Then he said "Not one, not even one mom." Her heart sunk to her toes. And then he said "I didn’t miss even one, mom. Every person got a Valentine from me today."

I know that sometimes I get caught up in "what's in it for me?" If I go out and do that for her, what will she do for me? I have committed my life to serving God, but sometimes I feel like God should be serving me. Isn't it true that there is more joy in giving, than there is in receiving? Anytime that little devilish thought crosses my mind about what I might get in return----I simply think of Chad, and "not even one."

Written by
Shelley Olson

HSBC Coffeebreak

May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.
Ruth 2:12

I was looking for a place to live. The son of the land-lord was returning, and he would be returning to my room, and so it was time to move!

Trying to find a new place to live wasn't as straight-forward as one would think. Since I am a foreigner (an American missionary living in Poland), I have to be registered. Registering a renter isn't really high on the list of people to rent to, since it means that one has to deal with the paperwork (waiting in line at a government office) and then later has to pay taxes on the rent.

So..... my daily struggle of trying to find a place to live continued. Each morning I was spending time in the Word, and each day the promises of God met me where I was in the process. I was less than a week away from needing to be out of my current place. During the last month of searching with no success I was still feeling peace that the Lord would provide. Today, however, I was feeling a bit of stress, knowing I had to again search the internet for available places, make many phone calls and hope for one person to be willing to register me. Today, the price or location was not making a difference to me. I only needed to find someone who would register me. Then I read the Scripture for that day.

It was out of Ruth 2:12, “May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”

Everything was going to be okay, I am under God's wings. Then came some further reading that reminded me how I was going to be okay. In Ruth 4, the Lord worked out the details for Ruth, Naomi and Boaz to a beautiful conclusion. The summary was such: "Sometimes you can only do so much yourself. You have to trust that God & others will play their part too. Pray for the strength to trust."

So that day, I did pray for the strength to trust & continued my search for an apartment.

Written by
Theresa Zacher

HSBC Coffeebreak

…apart from Me you can do nothing.
John 15:5 NASB

Slowly but steadily we climbed up a bumpy mountain road in an old Jeep. Eucalyptus trees dotted the Andes hillside. Pink quinoa grew amongst small patchwork farms, extending beyond my view. Finally we reached our destination, a Quichua Indian village, nestled in the heart of Ecuador.

My host missionaries and I were greeted with warmth and friendliness by the brightly dressed Quichua people. With lots of smiles and nods, we were ushered inside where a simple table was set with a mix match of dishes. I could smell something cooking. It was a peculiar odor, one that I couldn’t identify.

I recalled what my host missionaries had told me, “The Quichuas share their best food with us-- food they seldom eat themselves. It would be insulting for us to turn down their generosity. Some of the food, meat especially, may have set out at room temperature for days. We always silently pray before eating, asking for protection from sickness. Never once have we become sick after eating their food.”

We gathered around the table and sat in our appointed places. Being their new guest, I was given the honorable serving of a roasted guinea pig, complete with an attached head! I swallowed hard and wondered if I could really eat that. Next, I was given a bowl of broth with “chunkies” that I did not recognize. Ah ha, this is what I had smelled earlier.

As a jolly Quichua man prayed a prayer that I could not understand, I silently prayed for help to eat this food and for protection from getting sick. I was lacking faith but did not want to offend these kind people. I remembered what the missionaries had told me earlier, and I knew they would be praying for me, too.

God did enable me to eat that meal. I did not get sick, nor did I get sick for the remainder of my time in Ecuador. Each time the friendly Quichuas shared a meal, we silently prayed and God protected us from sickness.

The American food that I missed most that summer was simply a hamburger. After my long flight back to the United States, my friends picked me up at the airport and asked me what I wanted to eat. Without giving it a second thought, I said, “a hamburger!” They took me to an American restaurant, and I ordered a burger. Oh, was it ever tasty! However, a while later, hamburgers didn’t sound the least bit appealing. I was sick and learned that I had a mild case of food poisoning. At the time I did not think it was funny, but hindsight reveals a bit of humor in the situation.

While I was in Ecuador, I was out of my comfort zone and naturally more aware of my dependence on God. I felt a need for Him even when I ate a meal. However, back in my own country, I thought I could handle it. God reminded me that I still needed Him for the simple things, even when I was in familiar territory. Apart from Him, I can do NOTHING. I need Him, and He wants me to be mindful of that-- no matter where I am or what I’m doing.

Dear Lord,
I’m grateful for Your constant presence in my life. Thank You for always taking care of me. Even when I lose sight of You, You still have Your eye on me. I desire to live with increasing awareness of my need for You, whether in difficulty or ease. Amen.

Written by
Jodeen Erickson