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On His Path

Tuesday September 21st, 2021

Peacekeeper or Peacemaker
How often do you sweep your house? We have two large dogs and two large boys..annnnd their friends… in our not so big house. So, it seems like I am sweeping often…but I will admit it is not often enough. Most of the time I am in a hurry(or maybe a little lazy). So I sweep the kitchen, sweep the dirt and hair down the stairs, sweep the landing, and…then…( I am so embarrassed)…I sweep the pile of dirt and dog hair right under our shoe rack. About once a week, I clear the rack and pick up the pile of dirt and dog hair that has accumulated. Its a lot! I know I shouldn’t do it that way…but I do!
This phenomenon reminds of the beatitudes in Matthew 5…seriously, it does! Look at what Jesus says in Matthew 5:9;
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Jesus states that those that seek peace are blessed because they will be called sons of God. Sign me up! That is what I want to be: blessed and to be called a son of God. But what exactly is a peacemaker? What am I exactly signing up for?
A peacemaker is distinctly different then a peacekeeper. Look at that again…a PEACEMAKER is DIFFERENT than a PEACEKEEPER. A peacekeeper runs from conflict, does not engage in conflict for the purpose of not doing anything to upset anyone. Peacemakers actually enter into the conflict to actively pursue peace, solutions, and reconciliation. Do you see the difference?
An example of this would be the proverbial rug(or shoe rack) that problems get swept under. A peacekeeper would continue to go on about their business; cleaning the house, walking on the throw rug in the living room. Day after day they would walk on the rug, noticing each time they walk on the rug they might need a little more energy to walk over the hump of dirt under the rug. Soon, they will notice that they will need a climbing rope to get over mound under the rug. They never complain, they never speak of the mound, they simply just adjust their routine so that they do not disturb the huge dust ball that has now turned into a mountain.
The Peacemaker, on the other hand, will approach the same rug and partake in the same business of cleaning the house. They are walking on the same throw rug in the living room. But, when they notice that they stub their toe on the small round bump of dirt under the rug, they instantly throw the rug up to see what is causing their toe to be stubbed. They move the rug with the intention to see what the problem is and to get rid of the problem; so that they do not stub their toe again.
The psalmist in Psalm 34:14 implores that we need to:
14 Turn away from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
There are actually action steps that we need to take: we need to turn from our fleshly desires( to make it easy and just sweep it under the rug) decide to do good, actively look for occasions where there can be peace and then actually do something to achieve that peace.
God is the ultimate peace maker. He actively entered into the conflict of the broken relationship between man and God, as a fleshly human, and became the sacrifice so that we could be reconciled back to God. A peacemaker, from a Biblical perspective, is one who is actively trying to reconcile broken relationships of people to God and to one another.
So are you more of a peacekeeper or a peacemaker?
If you have a relationship that is broken or problem that needs a peacemaker, we would love to pray with you.
-Annie Powell
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On His Path

Friday August 27th, 2021

Taste and See

Chances are, if you have been to my house (and have been a guest during dinner time) you have been persuaded into trying some type of new food. Whether we are serving artichokes, avocados, salmon, tilapia, sauerkraut, plums, mango. I will always get the same response “ I don’t like…..(fill in the blank)”.
This isn’t exclusive to guests in our house, but also members of my household. Did you know that my husband never tried a BITE of cheesecake until he was an adult?!?!? The insanity!!! He never tried it because he did not think that cheese and cake should ever be in the same sentence. Can you imagine?!?! Never…even…tried…it.
Guess what? Since he has tried it, it’s his favorite and he will often talk about the regrets he has for never tasting it in his childhood. Seriously, it’s a regret of his!
My oldest son insisted that he HATED apple pie. Why? Because his dad did not like cooked fruit so he did not like cooked fruit. He had never even tried apple pie until his mother-in-law (who makes the most delicious homemade apple pie with a homemade crust that I can not even begin to describe) insisted that he try a bite. Now, for every birthday he most certainly requests apple pie from his mother -in -law!
When someone’s response is they don’t like what we are serving, our response is always “well, have you tried it?” Almost always it is “no”. Our question is always…how do you KNOW you don’t like it, if you have not tried it?!?!?
I think that this is what the psalmist in Psalm 34 is saying. But they also take a step further and make promises to those that trust in the Lord. They promise those who trust in the Lord to be blessed.
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!-Psalm 34:8

You may think that you know who the Lord is because of something someone has told you, or some thought that you have. Just as someone unmentioned didn’t think that cheese and cake should go together. I get it, sometimes it doesn’t sound logical or appealing. But my question to you or to someone you may know (who is struggling with the idea of following the Lord)…have you tasted it? Have you tried it? Have you tried it for YOURSELF?

I have tasted and see the that the Lord is good. Psalm 34:4-10 records exactly what I have and continue to experience.

4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.
6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him
and saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
9 Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack!
10 The young lions suffer want and hunger;
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

So before you or someone you know says that they don’t believe in God or don’t want to follow Him, I would ask if you have tried Him for YOURSELF?
I am praying for you today. I am praying that you will seek Him on your own to taste and see if the Lord is good. If you find yourself struggling with belief….please message us. We would love to walk beside you and help you test this challenge.

-Annie Powell
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On His Path

Thursday August 19th, 2021

No Words

No words. I have no words as I scroll through news feeds and see the desperate pictures of individuals pleading to get on a US bound plane from Afghanistan…desperate to the point that they are willing to DIE to try to get hope of freedom and safety. That is kind of an oxymoron…dying for safety. But that is the state of this world…right now. And I have no words. I have no words about our leadership, what we can do individually, or collectively. I do have some truths to cling on to:
1.While this surprised me, it did not surprise God.
He is:
Omnipresent. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.- Colossians 1:17
Omnipotent: Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?- Jeremiah 32:27
Omniscient: Even before a word is on my tongue behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
-Psalm 139:4

2. No president or leader will save us, safety can only come through Jesus Christ. We can see this truth throughout the book of 1Kings and 2 Kings.

3. Jesus died for our safety. He died for our Salvation so that we can be reconciled back into a right relationship with God. If you believe that, then you are secure in your future.
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:38-39
4. And I am comforted by the fact that the Holy Spirit intercedes on my behalf when I don’t have the words.
Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. - Romans 8:26
So, today, I lean on the Holy Spirit to help me in my weakness.
If you find yourself in a place of weakness and do not know the safety and security of Christ, please message us. We would love to pray with you.
-Annie Powell
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On His Path

Thursday August 12th, 2021

Can you remember when you were a kid and skinned your knees? I can remember having skinned knees… that were skinned…ON TOP OF BEING SKINNED!!! I am not sure if I was clumsy or a daredevil. I’ll go with daredevil…but really knowing I am not coordinated at all…so you can answer that question yourself!
I can remember getting a skinned knee…crying a little bit..and then taking off on my big wheel for the next adventure. Could you imagine getting a skinned knee now?!?! Oh my! I would be in REALLY bad shape if that happened today!
It seems as an adult, our wounds aren’t necessarily on the outside, but that we have these deep wounds within us. It can be from something we did or perhaps something someone else did. Regardless…the wounds are there. Sometimes they are hidden waaay underneath our skin or sometimes they are right.. at..the… surface; just waiting to seep out.
When we are little and get injured… our wounds turn from a source of hurt and sorrow to a source of pride and accomplishment. Our tears soon turn to excited words such as “you should have seen me jump….”or “ I crashed so hard that….” We have people sign our casts or gather around to listen to the story about our battle scar.
This is exactly what the Psalmist is saying in Psalm 30:11 about our emotions.
You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness- Psalm 30:11
I can look back at my life and see times when I was in deep mourning, but God’s goodness and faithfulness turned that time into rejoicing because of who He is and what He has done for me.
God promises this sort of results with our wounds that lay under our skin. God reminds us that He can heal these wounds:
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds -Psalm 147:3
I love this psalm. Especially where it says “binds up their wounds”. I can just picture God carefully, thoroughly, dutifully, and lovingly using His hands to mend our brokenness…giving careful attention to detail.
You might see these words on the page and be questioning how God can heal your emotional wounds. He can fill you with the Truth while He helps us shuck the lies that we have been told and that we have believed.
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.- 1Peter 2:24
So, when we talk about our wounds and scars, we can dust off our knees, jump on our big wheels and brag about how God is healing our wounds because by Jesus’ wounds we have been healed!
If you find yourself today, with skinned knees…there is good news! You can be fully healed from your wounds through Jesus Christ
If you need prayer, please message us.
-Annie Powell
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On His Path

Thursday August 5th, 2021

MERCY POOL
Do you find that when you read scripture, sometimes it can be perplexing? The account of Jesus healing the man at pool in John 5: 1-9 is an account that has had me scratching my head. It is not because Jesus healed the man that surprised me; after all there are many accounts of Jesus’ miracles throughout the New Testament. No, it’s not what Jesus DID in this account, but rather what he SAID:
‘ One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?”’-John 5:5-6
What a curious question to ask?!?! This man, along with numerous other people who were in desperate need of healing, waited patiently for a time when the pool would heal them. Of course, he wanted to be healed!
Have you ever wondered why Jesus asked that? Now this is just my opinion, so please take it as that. It appears to me that Jesus is wanting to know the condition of this man’s heart and also to let us clearly know the condition of his heart. Jesus gets an answer to what this man’s heart condition is:
The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” John 5:7
Do you see that? The man’s heart is full of excuses and blames others for him not being healed. He says he has no one to help him at a very specific time. He also blames others for rushing in before him.
Now, that may seem pretty harsh (I think it sounds pretty harsh) after all, this man is PARALYZED, how is he expected to do anything on his own?!?!
But that is not the point. I thought it was the point, but I don’t think it is the point. This man is at a pool called Bethesda. In Aramaic this means “house of mercy”. So this paralyzed man has been sitting at the side of the house of mercy waiting for someone to help him get into the pool to be healed. He has been sitting there with a bad attitude, blaming many people for why he is not healed. But then look at what Jesus does:
Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. John 5:7
The point is: the man did not need the pool. He did not need other people. He did not need to have a “good” attitude. All he needed was Jesus.
While this man was truly sitting at the pool in the house of mercy, I am wondering if you find yourself setting next to a pool waiting for someone to help you in? Do you feel helpless? Do you feel paralyzed? Do you feel like you have come to the end of your rope? Have you blamed others for your brokenness? The fact is that we ARE broken…every..single..one..of..us: just as broken as the man in this Bible account.
But there is good news! You can jump in the pool of mercy that is Jesus Christ our Savior. This is your decision, and your decision alone. If you have questions about this pool of mercy, please message us. If you need prayer, please message us. We would love to pray with you.
-Annie Powell
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On His Path

Tuesday July 20th, 2021

My husband is so inventive, mechanical, handy. I on the other hand…I am not. Seriously! There are many things that I am not allowed to do, and it’s not because my husband is bossy but rather for my safety and others. It’s the truth…I have tried to argue this fact because I want to feel fiercely independent, but I have come to the conclusion that I am not mechanical or handy. Its ok..don’t feel bad for me. I have accepted it and eventually, once you spend time with me, you would accept this fact also.
Despite the fact that I am not mechanical, I have managed to accumulate a FEW of my OWN tools. I feel so impowered by having my own electric sander, my own power washer, and a hot glue gun. I LOVE saying that I have my OWN tools might be weird, but it keeps me from trying to mess with my husband’s tools…sort of.
Just in the past few weeks, I purchased a new tool…it’s a battery-operated weed whacker! I think the official name of it is a string trimmer, but weed whacker sounds so much more fun (probably one of the reasons why I am not allowed to use all the tools we have)! I love just going around our yard and landscaping and whacking all the weeds we have…it is much easier than the tedious and extremely time-consuming way I usually pick weeds by hand.
It looks nice when I am all done whacking weeds! All the weeds are gone! But in all actuality, the weed is still there, you just cannot see the sprout of the weed. It is still busy being a weed; tucked under the dirt.
This exact situation is what Job is talking about in 14:7-9
7 “For there is hope for a tree,
if it be cut down, that it will sprout again,
and that its shoots will not cease.
8 Though its root grow old in the earth,
and its stump die in the soil,
9 yet at the scent of water it will bud
and put out branches like a young plant.
Just as there is hope for a tree to sprout a young plant, there is a good chance that a weed will grow up again if the whole root is not dug out. It may look like the weed is gone, but it is still flourishing under the ground.
My challenge is to pray about the root of your sin. Do you find yourself angry? Anxious? Do you find yourself struggling with the works of flesh as Galatians 5:19-21 states? I know personally, when I struggle with works of the flesh my root problem tends to be fear of man and lack of trust in God.
The good news is, if you find yourself struggling with works of the flesh, we have a Savior that is available to ALL that can take your sins and struggles from you. Why do we need a Savior? Because as Romans 3:10 states, no one is righteous, no, not one.
If you would like more information on why we need a Savior please message us, we would love to pray with you.
-Annie Powell
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