FAITH, FAMILY, LEGACY....( A BOOK REVIEW)

The Heart of a Praying Grandma

'Meetings with Beppe' is proof the Gospel of Salvation is so free, simple and available that the ordinary among us become extraordinary, when we truly belong to Christ. Angela Schans did a masterful job honoring her husband's hardworking, hard-praying grandma, whose story itself is quintessential Horatio Alger-like.

What a loving portrayal of Beppe. The latter had migrated from the Netherlands in 1955 with nothing, and yet she left a legacy of everything eternal. This short book's biggest accomplishment is not only found in amazing 90 year old ravaged by dementia spiritual brilliance, but in her poetry. Beppe's grasp of the Truths of the Bible, the narrow road to heaven and her ability to get to the heart of the gospel (in the poems) would make any seminary president blush with envy. 'Meetings with Beppe' is recommended for both children, adults and the young at heart.

PURCHASE "MEETINGS WITH BEPPE" HERE

ANGELA SCHANS DEVOTIONAL YOUTUBE CHANNEL 

THIRTY ONE DAYS OF PRAYER AND THE WORD:JANUARY 1-31, 2015 THEME: "ABIDE"

DAY TWENTY SEVEN:

VERSES:

"And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”....Revelation 21:4

PRAYER:

God of all comfort, love and mercy, we humbly in great anticipation, hope and faith, approach Thy Throne of Grace this day and now fall at Your feet, giving all our burdens, cares and tears into Your Mighty and Gentle Hands. Father, we live in a time of evil, pain, hurts and personal insults. We live in a time where Your people are under duress from the forces of evil and neglect. We live in a fallen world where sickness, viruses, famine, hunger and fear abound. We live in a paradigm of hopelessness, heresy and constant hounding by the hordes of hell and other false religion.

Even some of Your strongest saints, Father, ask if You are there, ask if You care and ask if You are even listening. We know, deep down You are. We know because Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, Victory and Wisdom testifies boldly, daily and forcefully to Your Presence, Power and possibilities in our lives. But we are cluttered not just by the clutter and distractions of this perishing world system and those in powerful institutions across the board. We are cluttered by our own foolish notions of Who You really are, What You have said and What it really means. We are even cluttered by our own, sometimes, unrepentant lifestyles and sins, especially in the western hemisphere - the Americas, Europe and Australia.

So Father, we repent right off the bat. We cannot abide, and rest in You....we cannot give all our sorrows, burdens and troubles to You....we cannot do anything unless we apologize for doubting You, for even disparaging You and for being distant FROM You. We are truly sorry for the sins of omission as well as those we commit against You and others. Search us now, oh God, and know the weak condition of our hearts, know every weakness and fault, we give it all to you and then wash away all the dross, dirt, filth and doubt for us so that we can clearly see the end of the matter.

We know there is coming a day, when You will wipe away all tears. When there will be no sorrow there, no burden or care...when this old body will be like Jesus after the Resurrection and the fallen nature of man will be thing of the past, long forgotten....where the evil of this world and those over it right now and in the past will be dispatched and long gone from the scene. Help us now to look toward that day, that promise that Truth, as we go through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, knowing that You are with us, for us, in charge of things and never left us. We love You, praise You, glorify and adore You, in Jesus' Strong Name, amen.

WHAT DO YOU REALLY WANT OUT OF LIFE?

New England Patriots QB Tom Brady

Many go through life without grasping the full meaning of it life.  Like all of us, at some

point in our earlier years, many have questions, the answers for which they either seldom seek (and find) the correct answers  or get the world’s misdirection or even worse – just give up and let their lives just slip away, meaninglessly.  This is not what God intended for us – whether Jew or Gentile or rich or poor. There is something within the spirit of every human which instinctively desires more than the present condition.  Increasingly, we hear this, not only from those who have not surrendered to the plans God originally had for them, but those who frequently darken the church door.

Some think “if only I had a little more, a boat or a trip to Europe or….” It would make me really happy. Some seek love and relationship, and end up on some dating website or worse – a bar, looking for love in all the wrong places.  Some seek answers in their occupation, lacking the proper perspective of what work is really about. Some seek it in music, writing books or athletics.  However, no matter what the temporal condition of the person in question, it is all boils down – more times oft than not – to “is this ALL there is”?! Is this it?

This is the same question that Super bowl Champion New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had! Here is a man who has everything a man could want, in the world’s eyes! Brady has the big multi-million contract. Brady has the huge diamond-studded Super Bowl rings. Brady has the awe of his peers and the world sports media. Brady has the massive mansion in California. Brady has the fashion model pretty wife. Brady has it all…or does he? What did he have to say about all of this? Now he does seem to be a nice guy on the human level, and has taken a liking to born-again Christian and new Patriot Tim Tebow, so this not a personal attack on Brady. It is though, an honest look at what makes successful men tick (or not) and why honesty really is the best policy...as well as the first step to personal, spiritual redemption!

I recommend you watch this Plumbline program called “WHAT DO PEOPLE WANT OUT OF LIFE?” – It is the introductory program to my 12-Part study of the entire Book of Ecclesiastes which will be posted here over the next several weeks. This upcoming series is called “THE MEANING OF LIFE”. The underlying Spirit-led premise is this- if you and I really want to know what the true meaning of life really is – FIND IT IN THE GOD OF THE BIBLE!