Lonia: A Conversion Story

I found a great little resource for helping kids and teens understand the process of conversion of a believer. It is called Lonia: A Conversion Story. It was written by James Greendyk and put out by Reformation Heritage Books.

Lonia is a young girl orphaned. This is the story of how she comes to understand her sin and her need for a Savior and learns how to give herself over to the work of Christ in her life.

2.24.10 Becoming a Man of Prayer

Ok, here's the laugh for you that I gave my children last night. "I'm on my way to becoming a Man of Prayer!" That was priceless. No really, I was looking for something on our shelves on prayer for me, when I found a Promise Keepers book called Becoming a Man of Prayer. I figured, well, prayer is prayer right? So, I have read the first two chapters and am very excited about it.



I guess part of prayer is developing a habit of taking "it to the Lord in prayer". So, Bob Beltz uses the Model Prayer (often called the Lord's Prayer) as a guide to developing a meaningful prayer life. I like what I've seen so far. He recommends to start by committing to pray for five minutes a day for five days, starting off by reading Luke 11:1-13 and one of Psalms 1-5 and then praying. This is just the start.

This is something I've struggled with for a long time. I know the lack of prayer has great consequences in my life. I am praying that the Lord will use this to open me up to all the many things that He would love for me to lay at His feet!

2.8.10 Working Wonders

Taken from: A Gentle Spirit Devotional Journal, written by: Mrs. Charles E. Cowman (from Streams in the Desert 2)

"God with power and might at His disposal yet works in this wise.
His quiet performances are indirect, deep, serene, and seemingly slow
and have to be explored to be understood and appreciated.
He quietly and confidently moves, working wonders day after day.
In every experience, at work, in church, and in society,
it sometimes appears as though God were being defeated,
and the movements of His grace and providence were failures,
and that all his plans were reversed,
flowing upstream in the opposite direction from the ocean of blessings.One has but to look up
and cast his gaze out from the shore of frustrating encirclements of the present
and consider the ENTIRE STREAM of God's purpose among His people
in order to see that He is continually winning the battle in quiet, circuitous ways.

God works through individuals, conquering some heart,
and through that heart He pours His purpose like a mighty river.
The Lord makes His conquests
by keeping His saints in utter dependence upon Him,
making them live by faith.
There is to be none of self in His program,
but all of Christ instead.