The Hole in Your Soul June 24, 2009

Faith Fills the Hole in Our Soul

Hebrews 11:1 KJV Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1 KJV).

Have you ever read this chapter of Hebrews? I counted the word faith 24 times in this one chapter. Paul illustrates historical examples of how faith worked in the lives of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sara, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses. Faith brought down the walls of Jericho and closed the mouths of lions. Faith in Jehovah God can set you free. Faith can make you whole.

Faith works the same way today as it did in the days of Daniel. Can you imagine the faith of Shadrach, Meschak and Abednego? Three Hebrew children, who would not worship the King but held tight to their devotion to Jehovah, were cast into a fiery furnace. They were not burned. When we pray, we are demonstrating faith that God is there and that He hears our prayers.

Faith is the assurance of things hoped for. Without faith what hope is there? Hope is the trust that God indeed loves us and answers our prayers. Without hope there is only doubt, fear and despondency. Consider those who are lost and outside of God’s protection. It is a dismal consideration. Without Jesus Christ there is only hopelessness. Some may put their trust and hope in other people or in money but a hope placed in these can only bring disappointment and grief. Men may disappoint and desert you, but God never will. He is always there. When we need Him He carries us when we can’t even walk. Sometimes, the things of this life are overwhelming. Without hope, faith and trust in Him, how can we possibly hope?

Faith is the knowledge that life on earth is not all there is. Faith is in knowing that beyond this life we have life eternal with God. I know people who believe that this life is all there is, that when we die, that is just the end. How sad it would be to go through everyday thinking that all we had to hope for is nothing. As Christians we have faith that one day we will be in heaven and abide with Him. Jesus is the only way to heaven. Do not be deceived. There is one and only one way to heaven and it is through Jesus Christ. John 3:16 is all you have to know to be saved. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son and whosoever BELIEVES in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

In this life on earth we have two choices. We can believe and be saved or we can reject Jesus and go to hell. It is that simple.

To have faith there must be belief. Unbelievers have no hope. Faith is so simple. God made His gospel so simple even little children can understand it. It doesn’t take great intellect to understand that God made us. He loves us and He wants to have a relationship with us. Some scholars have tried to disprove God’s Word. They have taken away their own hope. They try to reason too much about this simple story. By picking apart the Word of God they have made it hard. The brain God gave them has gotten in the way of being able to believe.

Humility and faith go hand in hand. There are times when nonbelievers think they have it all figured out and they feel they have out smarted God. This is a major stumbling block for them to believe. It blinds them to the simple faith that passes all understanding. We as humans are not meant to know everything. If God wanted us to know everything now He would have told us in His Word. What He did tell us is He loved us so much He sent His only Son to die for us. No one can disprove this no matter how hard they try.

All human beings have a big hole in their soul. People try to fill this hole with many things. Money, prestige, fame, fortune, drugs, alcohol, sex but they will always come up empty. The hole will still be there. The only thing that fits in the hole is God and his love for us.

Faith fills up the hole and makes us whole. Trying to fill this hole in our soul with anything but God is like trying to put a square peg into a round hole. Nothing will fit. Nothing will fill the hole except for the power and love of God. He created us with the hole in our soul. He created us to only be completely at peace when we fill the hole with His love.

What we know as Christians is we have the faith one great day every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Now there is something you can put your faith in. There is the hope that fills the hole in the soul. There is the answer.

Dear Lord Help us to demonstrate our faith in You so that others may believe. Help us to help the lost fill the holes in their souls with Your love. Thank you for Your Word and Your peace. We praise You and love you, let Your light so shine that others may see You in us everyday. In Your Holy Name I pray, Amen.

How do you fill the hole in your soul?
Does your faith shine so that others may see something in you that they desire?
How can we reach those who need Jesus the most?

©Angela Posey-Arnold 2008

4Him2U June 24, 2009

SonRise Writers group publishes a web mag every month. www.4Him2U.com is a source of encouragement and inspiration. Visit, stay a while or subscribe. You’ll be glad you did!!

In Memory of Ed Freeman June 24, 2009

You’re an 19 year old kid. You’re critically wounded, and dying in the jungle in the Ia  Drang  Valley , 11-14-1965, LZ X-ray,  Vietnam . Your infantry unit is outnumbered 8 – 1, and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 or 200 yards away, that your own Infantry Commander has ordered the MediVac helicopters to stop coming in.

You’re lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns, and you know you’re not getting out. Your family is 1/2 way around the world, 12,000 miles away, and you’ll never see them again. As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day.
Then, over the machine gun noise, you faintly hear that sound of a helicopter, and you look up to see an un-armed Huey, but it doesn’t seem real, because no Medi-Vac markings are on it.
Ed Freeman is coming for you. He’s not Medi-Vac, so it’s not his job, but he’s flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire, after the Medi-Vacs were ordered not to come.
He’s coming anyway.
And he drops it in, and sits there in the machine gun fire, as they load 2 or 3 of you on board.
Then he flies you up and out through the gunfire, to the Doctors and Nurses.
And, he kept coming back…. 13 more times….. And took about 30 of you and your buddies out, who would never have gotten out.
Medal of Honor Recipient, Ed Freeman,died last Wednesday at the age of 80, in  Boise ,  ID ……May God rest his soul…..

I bet you didn’t hear about this hero’s

passing, but we sure were told a whole

bunch about some Hip-Hop Coward

beating the poo out of his “girlfriend”

A Child of the King June 24, 2009

A Child of the King

By Angela Posey-Arnold

See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for He allows us to be called His children—think of it—and we really are!……(1 John 3:1 The Living Bible)

I sit here this morning at my desk and look at a picture of myself and my husband made twelve years ago. I am amazed as I reflect upon all that has happened in our lives since then.

Recalling memories of the past, twelve years ago seems like another life time. Since that time we have been through an intensive and heart breaking court battle leaving part of our family in shambles. We survived a horrible wreck and its aftermath. Our family has experienced illnesses and betrayals that took their toll on us all. There has been heartbreak of family division and the sudden unexpected death of a dear friend.

As I reflect on the trials I realize after every trial came spiritual growth. After every pressing came blessing. Perseverance and faith in God’s promises rang true each and every time. He never let us down and our faith grew. We came through the storms and on the other side of the storm was a rainbow and sunny skies, every single time.

In the trials, in the suffering we saw miracles, one after another. Maybe we did not see the miracle at the time it was happening, but in reflecting the miracles are brought to light. It was a miracle just to have survived some of those things. I am not surprised that we were brought through each trial. Coming out on the other side of each trial brought us closer to God. He promised He would be with us. He was. He never moved. No matter what life has thrown at us—God has kept His promises.

With each trial we had the choice of whether to turn to Him and trust Him or tread water in a desperate attempt not to drown. Too many times I first chose to tread water, leaning on my own understanding and strength. It was a bad choice every time. The bad choices were nutrients to my growth as a Christian. Through trials and tears I learned to pray first. Always pray first.

While going through the extremely difficult court battle with my husband’s ex-wife I felt like I was under attack. She was relentless in her aggressions motivated only by greed and hate. I remember being on my knees in the bathroom of the court house praying for strength. Other than our pocket book being lighter for her efforts—we survived. We grew, learned and continued to love. God never put us down. He carried us right through it.

I am blessed with a family of missionaries. One year while they were on mission I found myself alone in the midst of a storm. Again I was on my knees in a bathroom. (My husband says I could probably find a more sanitary place to kneel and pray).

This time down on my knees in a hospital cardiac unit bathroom. My husband was having an emergency heart catheterization. I cried out to God again. He, so loving and kind, answered me. He strengthened me and carried me through to the other side of the storm. The doctor said that my husband had the cleanest pipes he had ever seen. The problem was misdiagnosed acid indigestion, Praise God.

Have you ever watched a father and a child? The father picks up the child; the little one starts to squirm and is ready to go again. The father keeps his watchful eye on the child because he knows even though he must let the child learn by his own mistakes, he will stumble and fall. The father knows he needs to be there to catch the baby.

It won’t be long until the child stumbles and the father is picking the child up again and again and again. God is like that with us. He picks us up and lifts us up when we choose to let Him. He allows us free will but He keeps a watchful eye on us knowing that we will learn from our mistakes, but we will stumble. And when we do He is there. He sees us stumble. He hears our prayers. He picks us up and dust us off and heads us in the right direction.

When life gets so heavy that we can’t move He is faithful. The miracle of it all is He is always there. Oh, I may loose sight of Him and try to fix everything on my own. He understands. I think He just shakes His head and says, “There she goes again.”

So when life throws me another curve what am I going to do? Am I going to hit my knees first and turn to Him or will I worry, fret and freak out until finally as a last resort I fall on my knees and pray?

I think I will look back on all the times His love has seen me through. I have learned. I hope next time, I will seek Him first. Next time I will rest in His arms and quit squirming so much. In doing so, the next 12 years will be so much better.

Thank You God for Your everlasting love. I know that I am just as a child, lost without You. I am so thankful for Your love. It is so awesome to know You are always there. Help me to always look to You first knowing Your love is there, all I have to do is reach up. Wonderful it is to know I am a child of the King!! Glory and praise to You. In Jesus Holy Name I pray. Amen.

©2008 Angela Posey-Arnold