In the book of Ecclesiastes, the Preacher wrote about time — how there is a time for everything. I thought about how we often measure our lives by time. We beat time; we are pressed for time; we make up for lost time; we tell time; we show someone a good time; we take our time; we are on borrowed time; we pass the time; we are sometimes caught up in this point in time; we bide our time. We often get so caught up in doing, that we find ourselves not having time for God.

I often look at people who spend most of their time working and not spending time with loved ones. The years speed quickly by, and they miss time with their families. Children grow up without the quality time, having had a parent (or parents) in name only. Here, Solomon in his mature years gave good, sound, wise counsel. It is all futile unless we honour God in all we do. God is the answer to all of it.

There is indeed a time for everything: a time to live and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which has been planted.

We live in a society where time is important. We need to be on time for appointments. There are those who charge for the time they could have spent with us, if we don't cancel an appointment more than 24 hours beforehand. Wow! Charging for time! I am so glad that God doesn't charge us for the time that we wasted by not spending time with Him. Spending time with God is not wasteful because we gain. What we gain is a closer relationship with our heavenly Father. The ultimate, most useful time is time with God: an opportunity to be in His presence.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your patience with us. Teach us, Lord, to realize that time with You is time well-spent. Slow us down so that we see all Your benefits and enjoy them. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

I went through a period of my life when I wasn't sure exactly where I fit in. My parents were divorced when I was a little girl. No one could fully explain the who, why, or when to me. All I knew was I didn't live with Daddy or my sisters any more. For a long time, people told me it had nothing to do with me. I now know that even though it really had nothing to do with me, it still affected my life a great deal.

I searched and searched for relief from my pain. I searched in the bottle, and then, I tried drugs. Still, I had no relief. Yes, the alcohol and drugs numbed my pain. But when the effects wore off, I still had pain. Then finally on a cold Sunday afternoon in Germany in a small army chapel, I heard the voice of God say, "It's time." I remember looking around thinking someone had whispered in my ear. Then, I heard the voice again, and I knew in my heart that it was time to give my life to God. That was eleven years ago.

What happened to the pain? I gave it all to Jesus. The Bible says, "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." (1 Peter 5:7 KJV) He took away the deep and festering wounds of my childhood. That little lost girl is no longer; a saved and healed woman emerged out of the ashes. "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." (Psalm 30:5 KJV) People often ask me why I praise the Lord the way I do. To put it simply: He gave me "beauty for ashes".

No matter what the situation in our lives is, there is hope. There is nothing too hard for God. He will work it out. There is definitely a light at the end of the tunnel, and His name is Jesus. There is an old saying, "Jesus may not come when you want Him, but He is always on time." My brothers and sisters, be encouraged and be strong. Remember all God's promises are yea and amen.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You so much for Your healing hand, Your love, Your patience, and Your compassion. Heal, set free, and deliver all who are hurting, as only You can. Give us strength, O Lord. We love You and praise You for Your mighty acts. Great is Your faithfulness. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Our youngest child, who is five years old, has said for the last week, "I wonder what I'm getting for Christmas?" My reply is, "I wonder, too!" As she spoke those words, I thought, every child across the world is asking the same question. And probably just as many parents had the same response. Christmas is unfortunately a time of stress instead of a time of joy, because we feel the pressure of "What should I get for my family or friends?" or "Should I buy for everybody or just those close to me?" or "How much should I spend this year?" or "Will they like it?"

I thank God that the gift He gave thousands of years ago was and still is without charge. He gave His Son because of the great love He has for us. We all are familiar with John 3:16 – "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." (KJV) His gift-giving technique outshines all the others. All God asks in return is that we obey and believe in His only begotten Son.

Jesus so graciously gave His life for us. He took the whole world's sin upon His shoulder. He is wonderful; He has been a counsellor to me in times of need. There is a saying, "He is a lawyer in a court room and a doctor in a sick room." Well, Jesus has been all those things and more to me. He is everything we need. His gift is continuous, not just in December. He has been peace in the midst of a storm; He is mighty. Why am I saying all this? When we receive gifts from family or friends, those gifts are temporary; the gift of Jesus Christ lasts a lifetime. And it all started when God the Father gave His Son. Merry Christmas!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your wonderful gift of Jesus. We ask that You would bless each of us during this special time, and that we would remember the true meaning of Christmas. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

In the book of Ecclesiastes, the Preacher wrote about time — how there is a time for everything. I thought about how we often measure our lives by time. We beat time; we are pressed for time; we make up for lost time; we tell time; we show someone a good time; we take our time; we are on borrowed time; we pass the time; we are sometimes caught up in this point in time; we bide our time. We often get so caught up in doing, that we find ourselves not having time for God.

I often look at people who spend most of their time working and not spending time with loved ones. The years speed quickly by, and they miss time with their families. Children grow up without the quality time, having had a parent (or parents) in name only. Here Solomon in his mature years gave good, sound, wise counsel. It is all futile unless we honour God in all we do. God is the answer to all of it.

There is indeed a time for everything: a time to live and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which has been planted.

We live in a society where time is important. We need to be on time for appointments. There are those who charge for the time they could have spent with us, if we don't cancel an appointment more than 24 hours beforehand. Wow! Charging for time! I am so glad that God doesn't charge us for the time that we wasted by not spending time with Him. Spending time with God is not wasteful because we gain. What we gain is a closer relationship with our heavenly Father. The ultimate, most useful time is time with God: an opportunity to be in His presence.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your patience with us. Teach us, Lord, to realize that time with You is time well spent. Slow us down so that we see all Your benefits and enjoy them. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

I went through a period of my life where I wasn't sure exactly where I fit in. My parents were divorced when I was a little girl. No one could fully explain the who, why or when to me. All I knew was I didn't live with Daddy or my sisters any more. For a long time, people told me it had nothing to do with me. I now know that even though it really had nothing to do with me, it still affected my life a great deal.

I searched and searched for relief from my pain. I searched in the bottle and then I tried drugs. Still I had no relief. Yes, the alcohol and drugs numbed my pain. But when the effects wore off, I still had pain. Then finally on a cold Sunday afternoon in Germany in a small army chapel, I heard the voice of God say, "It's time". I remember looking around thinking someone had whispered in my ear. Then I heard the voice again and I knew in my heart that it was time to give my life to God. That was eleven years ago.

What happened to the pain? I gave it all to Jesus. The Bible says, "Cast all your cares upon him, for he cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7). He took away the deep and festering wounds of my childhood. That little lost girl is no longer; a saved and healed woman emerged out of the ashes. "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning" (Psalm 30:5). People often ask me why I praise the Lord the way I do. To put it simply: He gave me "beauty for ashes".

No matter what the situation in our lives is, there is hope. There is nothing too hard for God. He will work it out. There is definitely a light at the end of the tunnel and his name is Jesus. There is an old saying, "Jesus may not come when you want him, but he is always on time". My brothers and sisters, be encouraged and be strong. Remember all God's promises are yea and amen.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you so much for your healing hand, your love, your patience and compassion. Heal, set free and deliver all who are hurting, as only you can. Give us strength, O Lord. We love you and praise you for your mighty acts. Great is your faithfulness. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Our youngest child, who is 5 years old, has said for the last week, "I wonder what I'm getting for Christmas?" My reply is "I wonder too!". As she spoke those words, I thought, every child across the world is asking the same question. And probably just as many parents had the same response. Christmas is unfortunately a time of stress instead of a time of joy. Because we feel the pressure of "What should I get for my family or friends? Should I buy for everybody or just those close to me?" Or "How much should I spend this year? or "Will they like it?"

I thank God that the gift he gave thousands of years ago was and still is without cost. He gave His Son because of the great love he has for us. We all are familiar with John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth on him shall not perish but have everlasting life." His gift-giving technique outshines all the others. All God asks in return is that we obey and believe in his only begotten Son.

Jesus so graciously gave his life for us. He took the whole world's sin upon his shoulder. He is wonderful; he has been a counsellor to me in times of need. There is a saying "He is a lawyer in a court room and a doctor in a sick room." Well, Jesus has been all those things and more to me. He is everything we need. His gift is continuous; not just in December. He has been peace in the midst of a storm; he is mighty. Why am I saying all this? When we receive gifts from family or friends, those gifts are temporary; the gift of Jesus Christ lasts a lifetime. And it all started when God the Father gave his Son. Merry Christmas!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, We thank you for your wonderful gift of Jesus. We ask that you would bless each of us during this special time, and that we would remember the true meaning of Christmas. In Jesus' name. Amen.

On February 14th, we give cards, candy and other gifts to show our loved ones that they are special to us. What a feeling to know that someone loves you. All obstacles are minimal, when you have the love of someone. When I read John 3:16, I think about how special we are to God and how minimal the obstacles are when he is in our lives. Our lives are better because God loves us, because he gave his only begotten son, that we might have everlasting life. I also see in this scripture that God's love is eternal and unconditional. No matter how many times we fall short, his love is still ongoing. In spite of our faults; he overlooks them and sees our needs. I remember that there were times in my life when I felt unloved, but then I heard the good news: Jesus died for my sins. One of my favourite scriptures is John 3:16. It tells me why God gave his only begotten Son. It was, it is, my second chance. We don't often get second chances in life. Oh, but what a second chance – to gain everlasting life.

The dictionary defines love as an intense feeling. God "so loved" the world – that's an intense statement. God's love is strong and unending; he won't stop loving us. How powerful that is! God doesn't love us on condition. His love extends far beyond that.

Jesus knew the pain he would endure on the cross but still he laid down his life. There is a gospel song entitled "In Harm's Way," which tells how Jesus placed himself in harm's way for us. He bore the many stripes and the humiliation of crucifixion for you and I. Because of God's love, Valentine' s Day has taken on a new meaning for me.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for your mercy and grace. Thank you for your undying love. Help us Father, to remember your love, when life becomes tough. Let us remember your wonderful gift, Jesus, and that we can do all things through Christ which strengthens us. In Jesus' name. Amen.