"For we which live are always
delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might
be made manifest in our mortal flesh."  II Corinthians 4:11 (KJV)

Sometimes our prayers are for deliverance from conditions which are morally
indispensable--that is, conditions which are absolutely necessary to our
redemption. God does not grant us those requests. He will not because He loves
us with a pure and implacable purpose: that Christ be formed in us. If Christ
is to live in my heart, if his life is to be lived in me, I will not be able to
contain Him. The self, small and hard and resisting as a nut, will have to be
ruptured. My own purposes and desires and hopes will have to at times be
exploded. The rupture of the self is death, but out of death comes life. The
acorn must rupture if an oak tree is to grow.

It will help us to remember, when we do not receive the answer we hoped for,
that it is morally necessary, morally indispensable, that some of our prayers
be denied, "that the life of Jesus may be plainly seen in these bodies of
ours" (2 Cor 4:11 JBP). Then think of this: the agonized prayer of Jesus
in the garden went unanswered, too. Why? In order that life--our life--might
spring forth from death--his death.

This devotional is used with permission by the author. It may be used
solely for personal, noncommercial, and informational purposes

Do you realize how many Chinese have suffered and suffer still because of the Olympics?
Thousands
have been displaced...kicked out of their homes...left homeless,
arrested and persecuted all to make way for the Olympics. I don't know
this answer but I wonder if any
athletes refused to participate because of this inhumane treatment of
the Chinese people? Thoughts of Eric Liddell make me wonder if he
would have refused. I think he would have.
How can we remain silent and act as if nothing is wrong with something when we KNOW it is wrong?
For as long as I can remember I have always had a special love in my heart for the Chinese people. I
have to speak up. What happened to these people to make way for the
"pride" of having the Olympics in their country was so very wrong. I
am ashamed that our country is so sports hungry that we've overlooked
the injustices.
Ecclesiates 3:7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
Proverbs 14:25 A true witness delivereth souls: but a deceitful witness speaketh lies.
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Pastor Bike standing with Anna, an orphan girl who has also been persecuted by the Chinese government.

On August 6, just two days before the
Olympics began, Pastor Zhang "Bike" Mingxuan was arrested, along with
his wife and a coworker. In response to these arrests, The Voice of the
Martyrs and China Aid Association have launched a petition drive to
free these three Christians and to let the Chinese government know that
the world is aware that these Christians are being detained.

Pastor
Bike, as he is affectionately known, is considered to be one of the
most outspoken evangelists in China. He is a bold believer willing to
cross borders, hand out Christian literature and Bibles, share Christ
with those under age 18 and lead thousands to Christ. All these actions
are considered "illegal," in communist China. Earlier this year, Pastor
Bike pleaded with VOM staff and China Aid Association to create the
China Prayer Bands so that Christians in the free world could know more
about persecution of Christians in China.

Sign the Petition to Free Pastor Bike

"Pastor
Bike is willing to do everything that the state church won't do," says
Tom White, executive director of The Voice of the Martyrs. "The love of
Christ is evident in his outreach and his passion for souls. He stands
for everything we believe in and has been mercilessly persecuted by the
Chinese government." read more about Pastor Bike

So far 4758 people have signed the petition.

About one minute into this video report by the BBC on China's crackdown on dissidence, Pastor Zhang "Bike" Mingxuan is seen being forcibly detained by Chinese authorities. He was released shortly after the incident but was arrested again on August 6, two days before the Olympic Games opening ceremonies.

I had a pity party and nobody came.....now I know why. 

Nobody Knows the Trouble
I've Seen

When we begin to imagine that our own problems are so deep, so insoluble, or
so unusual that no one really understands us, we delude ourselves. It is one of
the many delusions of pride, for Scripture tells us not only that our High
Priest, Christ, has been tempted in every way as we are, but that no temptation
has ever come our way that is not common to man. There are no more new
temptations than there are new sins. Our story, whatever it is, is an old one,
and He who has walked the human road has entered fully into our experiences of
sorrow and pain and has overcome them. He has comforted others in our situation,
gone with them into the same furnaces and lions' dens, has brought them out
without smell of fire or mark of tooth.

It is a bad thing to take refuge in difficulties, thus excusing ourselves
from responsibility to others because we think our situation is unique. If we
are willing to receive help, our Helper is standing by--sometimes in the form of
another human being sent by Him, qualified by Him to help us. It may be a case
of our not receiving help because we were too proud to receive the kind God
sent. Sometimes we really prefer to wallow.

"Ours is not a high priest unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one
who, because of his likeness to us, has been tested every way, only without sin.
Let us therefore boldly approach the throne of our gracious God, where we may
receive mercy and in his grace find timely help" (Heb 4:15, 16 NEB).

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I can't help it....I must be goofy or something but no matter how down I get..in all my years...I can't stop singing.  It must be my defense mechanism.  Give me a few minutes alone with the Lord or just an early morning with the crickets and singing birdies and I feel like Maria with her arms stretched out twirling on the top of that mountain ready to burst into song.  Sadly, I can't sing very well...but that does not bother me a bit.  I do it anyway.  I remind myself of my dear Aunt Twila...who I went to church with when I was pretty little.  She would just bellow out (she was a very large woman) those hymns...whether she knew the words or not. much to my dismay and embarrassment..hee hee....BUT now I am probably as old as she was back then and I am sure I am doing the same thing to who ever sits near me....and I love it!     Once you reach a certain age you can sing the words however you think they are and if you goof you just keep on singing and eventually it ends up alright.  Isn't that right Papa Joe?  (Gladly, the crossed eyed bear)

Speaking of hymns...  .....FINALLY....we are attending a church who believes in good old fashioned hymns only.  Remember those...the songs with the meat of the gospel in them?   But, I must admit I do have one pet peeve...a biggie and I have to blame it on Elisabeth Elliot.  If we are going to sing a hymn...then let's sing all the verses and not verse this and this or that and that...you know what I am saying?  Those great hymns tell a story from beginning to end and they progress from verse one all the way through to the last verse and to skip any is just not right.  What are a few more minutes to complete the whole thing? 

On another note....whew....things are getting crazy around here.  We've been gearing up for the once a year huge 3 day festival that we participate in and it is coming up like a speeding train.  I've got one preoccupied gal here who holds the most responsibility (of our family) overseeing a whole swarm of young ladies and some older ladies too.  She runs one of the major demonstrations and has a lot of things on her plate right now.  Don't feel too sorry for her though.  She's been doing this since she was 7 and took over the running of it when she was 15.  So I do believe she could do it in her sleep but still there is a lot to think about and a whole lot to do to prepare.  She's also been sewing so much that she managed to get blisters on most of her fingers.  Yes, all by hand...just wait...I'll post pictures of her creations.  I even got something made for me.  Thank you E!     So...when you picture a balloon full of air being let loose and see it fly erratically all around the room till the air runs out....think of four of them...that would be us.  I am the one singing.