One morning a little while ago, my wife was in the shower and I was watching the morning news on the television when the phone rang. It was our daughter; she was very upset, saying, "James has got a marble stuck in his throat." (James is our three-year-old grandson.)

Quickly, I grabbed the portable phone and took it in to my wife; then I came out into the lounge and dropped onto my knees and prayed a very short, urgent prayer. All I said was, "Lord, help, please pop that marble out of little Jimmy's throat."

By this time, my wife had told our daughter to ring for an ambulance and had hung up. Then the phone rang again, so I picked up the wall phone in the lounge room. It was our daughter, and she said, "It's out; the marble has just popped out."

Now that's what I call an answer to prayer! It just proved to me once again that the God who created the entire universe loves us all so much that He wants us to talk to Him in prayer on a daily basis. Not only that, He wants us to take all of our needs and problems to Him and give them to Him to look after.

1 Peter 5:7 – Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you. (NLT)

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for Your unconditional love for us. Help us to remember that You want to carry all our worries and cares for us. May we come boldly to Your throne of grace and give them all to You. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Twenty years ago, when I was forty years old — almost to the day — I was diagnosed with Parkinson's. This was quite a shock at the time, but over the years, I have realized that it was a blessing and that God had His reasons for allowing this disease to come upon me. For one thing, it has brought me a lot closer to God than I would have ever have been without Parkinson's. I have learnt to trust in God so much more. One example is in my tithing. I now realize that if I tithe, God gives us back a lot more than ten percent. I have been blessed by God, working through other people.

As an example, there is now an operation that can be performed called Deep Brain Stimulation that does wonders for people with Parkinson's, but it costs (here in Australia) somewhere between twenty and fifty thousand dollars. When we first heard of this two or three years ago, my wife and I discussed it, and since there was no way we could ever afford such a large amount, we had dismissed the idea of having this surgery. Then about three months ago, we were sitting in church one Sunday morning, when our pastor came up to us and said that someone had contacted him and had offered to pay for me to have this surgery. Once again, God has blessed us much more than we deserved.

Prayer: Thank You, heavenly Father, for the many ways You bless us. Help us to give back to You a portion of what You have given freely to us. Amen.

Does anyone get frightened watching the news on the television? All the murders and suicide bombings and illnesses, like cancer, that we hear about and see all around us today can be very unsettling. It can be very disturbing not knowing if it's safe to walk outside the house, for fear of being mugged.

Yet, there is a bright side. When we hear or see all the negative news, we can go to the Bible and read some of the positive verses that give us hope, peace, and encouragement. We can counter the negative news around us with God's promises.

What bad news can "survive" when up against words like these? —

Psalm 91:4-7 – He will shield you with his wings. He will shelter you with his feathers. His faithful promises are your armour and protection. Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor fear the dangers of the day, nor dread the plague that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday. Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you. (NLT)

In verse 14 of the same Psalm, the Lord says, "I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name." (NLT)

Why should we fear, when we have an all-powerful, always-in-control Saviour Who not only takes care of us down here, but Who also is now preparing a home for us in heaven?

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, we thank You for Your free gift of salvation and Your protection while we live on this earth. We really look forward to going to heaven to live with You one day. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Do you believe in angels? I sure do. I've had too many personal encounters with them not to. The first time I felt the presence of an angel was back in 1971 when my wife and I had been married for only two weeks, and we were on our way to a friend's wedding. I pulled out to overtake the car in front of me, and then that driver decided to pull out and overtake the car in front of him. As we were all doing around sixty miles per hour, overtaking was not a good idea. As a result, my car collided with the car in front, and we were now skidding in 360-degree circles down the highway.

The first thing I felt was somebody taking over driving the car. I believe it was an angel. We came to a halt on the edge of a very steep culvert. The next thing I remember was a very distinct presence that was in the car telling me, "Slow down. You have responsibilities now." Another thing that stood out to me was that everything in the back of the car was tossed round all over the place in a real mess, but things in the front seat and on the dashboard had not moved. We were both so very shaken by this whole incident that after we had swapped names and insurance details with the other drivers, we pulled over a little further down the road and thanked the Lord for His protection over us.

I have told this story to a number of people over the years, and some of them say that I'm making it up, but I know that I'm not. I firmly believe in angels, as I've had a number of similar times when angels were leading or protecting me. Although God does allow bad things, even disasters, to happen to us, we may never know how much worse they might have been had He not been guarding us. We can have a real sense of peace knowing that God has His special agents watching over us and our families.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we thank You for Your free gift of salvation, for Your amazing grace, and for Your unconditional love to us. Lord, we also thank You for Your protecting angels who watch over us all the time. Even when we do silly things, Your protection is still with us, for Your Word tells us that You will never leave us or forsake us. In Jesus' precious name, we pray. Amen.

Sometimes God has to get our attention — and He got my attention back in 1989. Before that time, I was Christian, but I would have to say I was a nominal Christian. I reluctantly went to church with my family, but I can't say I enjoyed it. Then in 1988, I noticed that the little fingers on both my hands would shake for a few minutes when I went to bed at night. As I had hardly ever been sick all my life, I ignored this slight tremor in my fingers. Then one thing led to another, and towards the end of 1989, at the age of forty, I was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. To say that this came as a shock is an understatement. But now I can honestly say that it was a blessing, because it has turned me towards Jesus. Since that time, as I have grown weaker physically, I have had to rely on the Lord for strength more and more, and I have found Him to be a wonderful friend and companion.

As I have searched the Scriptures, I have found some wonderful promises that I can claim as my own. When I have tried to understand why this has happened to me, I have read, "Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding." (Proverbs 3:5 AMP). At times when I feel so weak from shaking so much that I am driven to tears, the Lord reminds me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV)

I have found Jesus to be a friend Who not only sticks closer than a brother, but someone who can be trusted right to the very end. Hallelujah, what a Saviour!

Prayer: Dear Lord, we thank You for Your unconditional love to us. We thank You that one day You are coming again to take us to live with You, where there will be no pain or suffering. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

My dad, who went to be with the Lord back in 1999 at the grand old age of 96, was a pastor for 65 years. He insisted on having family devotions every night after the evening meal, and all family members had to attend. It didn't do any of us any harm. My two brothers, two sisters, and I are all still involved in Christian ministry in churches in Australia.

I think the difference is that even though my dad was quite a strict father, he also had a very loving and tender side. I can remember the times when I needed to be punished for something or other. Dad would take me to his study, and after being punished appropriately, I would be sent to my room. About half an hour or so later, though, dad would come into my room, sit down beside me on the bed, put his arm around me, and talk very gently to me about how much he loved me and also about how much God loved me. Then, after a few minutes, he would say, "Come on, lad, let's go outside and kick a ball around for a while." He always found time for all of his children.

I am really looking forward to going to heaven and meeting up firstly with my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Then I hope to give my mom and dad a big hug again. I wonder if dad will say to me, "Come on, lad, let's go and kick a ball around for a while."

Prayer: Dear heavenly Father, we thank You for families, and we thank You that we who love You will be reunited in heaven one day. In Jesus' precious name, we pray. Amen.