Today’s Reading: Genesis 20-21
Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).
One of the many stone covered walkways in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Key Verses: Genesis 21:2-3
For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.
Abraham named the baby Isaac, which means, “laughter,” for good reasons. (1) When Abraham was promised by God that he would have a son with his wife Sarah, Abraham “Fell on his face and laughed” (Gen. 17:17). (2) When Sarah heard the promise of God she laughed also, but it was a different laugh. Abraham laughed for joy, and Sarah laughed because of unbelief (Gen. 18:12). (3) The promise, of which Isaac was the heir, has become a cause for laughter as an expression of joy down through the ages. Isaac was born “at the set time.” God is rarely early in fulfilling His promises, but He is never late! God is punctual. His promised mercies may not come on our schedule. They will come in His timing. “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14).
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord, I heard that someone prayed,”Dear Lord, give me patience, and please hurry up!” That thought brings me laughter, and that’s okay with You. I pray that Your joy will fill my heart. Amen!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
I make sure I watch the 100 Huntley Street telecast every day. Even if I’m not near a TV set, I can watch it on the internet at www.100huntley.com (if you are in the USA it will take you to the USA website, but you can click on the Canadian flag to find the Canadian edition of 100 Huntley Street). I pay close attention to every word spoken, to the body language, and to the visuals shown. You see, these television productions were promised to Norma-Jean and me years ago. My wife had the vision of a continent-wide TV ministry before I did. I laughed at her definite statement. I had unbelief, but God did it anyway. There we were in a small congregation in a small village. How could this ever be? I look back now and marvel at the plan and grace of God. If you want to see what God has done over 52 years, click here and browse around the website. Now I laugh for joy realizing that God has done “more than we could ever ask or think according to the power that works within us” (Ephesians 3:20).
Yours with joyful laughter,
David
P.S. Please join me in prayer for the first of my summer healing services this evening. I am leading it in the Chapel at the Crossroads Centre here at 1295 North Service Road in Burlington. Throughout July and August, every Sunday evening at 6 p.m., I’ll be joined by others in praying for the sick according to James 5:13-16. This is one way to say “Thanks” to God and to all who ministered to me since I was diagnosed with acute MDS leukemia 28 months ago. I was told that this disease is “terminal,” and that I could expect to live for 24 months. I had lost over 80 pounds, and frankly I looked like a bag of bones. But now here I am having gained 45 pounds back (enough already!), feeling energized, and ready to pray for others. Find more about the healing services here. There is lots of “laughter” in our family and in the Crossroads Ministry as we rejoice in the purposes of God. May this “Lord’s Day” be filled with lots of reasons to laugh!
Mesmerizing photo! Amen, David! See you there Sunday, August 17th for the healing service! So looking forward to being anointed and prayed over by you and other trusted Pastors. God bless you, fine sir!
Thank You, Lord, for meeting our specific needs, stated in the scripture of James 5:13-16: “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses[a] to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”
“Being perplexed, I say,
‘Lord, make it right!
Night is as day to Thee,
Darkness as light.
I am afraid to touch
Things that involve so much;
My trembling hand may shake,
My skilless hand may break;
Thine can make no mistake.’
“Being in doubt I say,
‘Lord, make it plain;
Which is the true, safe way?
Which would be gain?
I am not wise to know,
Nor sure of foot to go;
What is so clear to Thee,
Lord, make it clear to me!'”
“It is such a comfort to drop the tangles of life into God’s hands and leave them there.”
“We never know where God hides His pools. We see a rock, and we cannot guess it is the home of the spring. We see a flinty place, and we cannot tell it is the hiding place of a fountain. God leads me into the hard places, and then I find I have gone into the dwelling place of eternal springs.” Streams in the Desert 1, Cowman, selected, 1965, pp. 214-215
We lay it all down before You, our Heavenly Father, our Saviour and Lord, Jesus Christ, and to the sanctity of the Holy Spirit. You are the great I AM, and our trust is in You!
Blessings, dear saints, as we worship our Lord and risen King.
James 5:13-16King James Version (KJV)
13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
AMEN! AMEN AND AMEN!!!
Have a blessed Sunday fellow bloggers and may His Goodness and Mercies always be with us now and forevermore ! Amen
God Bless the Healing Service and every heart be filled with great joy
Praise God Our Healer Our All in All
I do plan to be there, Lord willing!
The Holy Spirit of God will be there at this Sunday’s healing Service. May this service be a blessing to all who attend… In Jesus precious name – Amen!
May we laugh with joy of heart on this Lord’s day. Have a blessed day everyone!
Genesis 20-21 is like the most real-life, perplexing soap opera ever. Stuff like this couldn’t be made up!
Norma-Jean has been such a visionary and blessing to you Rev. DM.
How I pray your summer healing services bring many to the Cross and joy to those poor in body and spirit. God bless you Rev. DM.
Joy and laughter to all in Jesus name this fine Sabbath.
Agreeing with all the saints–praying for a great healing service, tonight, David Mainse et al. It will be incredible with the Holy Spirit present!
We look forward to worshiping with you this evening, David!! Your healing is truly miraculous! Blessings and His strength and joy, to all!
love this one!
Subject: Fwd: Forest Gump Goes To Heaven
Forest Gump Goes To Heaven
The day finally arrived. Forrest Gump dies and goes to Heaven.
He is at the Pearly Gates , met by St. Peter himself.
However, the gates are closed,
And Forrest approaches the gatekeeper.
St. Peter said, ‘Well, Forrest,
It is certainly good to see you. We have heard a lot about you.
I must tell you, though, that the place is filling up fast,
And we have been administering
An entrance examination for everyone.
The test is short, but you have to
Pass it before you can get into Heaven.’
Forrest responds, ‘It sure is good to be here, St. Peter, sir.
But nobody ever told me about any entrance
Exam. I sure hope that the test ain’t too hard.
Life was a big enough test As it was.’
St. Peter continued, ‘Yes, I
Know, Forrest, but the test is only three questions.
First: What two days of the week begin with the letter T?
Second: How many seconds are there in a year?
Third: What is God’s first name?’
Forrest leaves to think the questions over.
He returns the next day and sees St. Peter, who waves him up, and
Says, ‘Now that you have had a chance to think the questions over,
Tell me your answers.’
Forrest replied, “Well the First one — which two days in the week begins with the letter ‘T’?
Shucks, that one is easy. That would be Today and Tomorrow.’
The Saint’s eyes opened wide and
He exclaimed, ‘Forrest, that is not what I was thinking, but you do
Have a point, and I guess I did not specify, so I will give you credit
For that answer. How about the next one?’ asked St. Peter.
‘How many seconds in a year ?
Now that one is harder,’ replied Forrest, ‘but I thunk and thunk about
That, and I guess the only answer can be twelve.’
Astounded, St. . Peter said, ‘Twelve?
Twelve? Forrest, how in Heaven’s name could you come up with twelve seconds In a year?’
Forrest replied, ‘Shucks, there’s
Got to be twelve: January 2nd, February 2nd, March 2nd… ‘
‘Hold it,’ interrupts St. Peter.
‘I see where you are going with this, and I see your point,
Though that was not quite what I had in mind….but I will have to give
You credit for that one, too.
Let us go on with the third and final question.
Can you tell me God’s first name’?
‘Sure,’ Forrest replied,
‘it’s Andy.’
‘Andy?’ exclaimed an exasperated
And frustrated St Peter .
‘Ok, I can understand how you
Came up with your answers to my first two questions,
But just how in the
World did you come up with the name Andy as the first name of God?’
‘Shucks, that was the easiest
One of all,’ Forrest replied. ‘I learnt it from the song,
ANDY WALKS WITH ME,
ANDY TALKS WITH ME,
ANDY TELLS ME I AM HIS OWN.’
St. Peter opened the Pearly Gates,
And said: ‘Run, Forrest, run.’
Lord, Give me a sense of humor
Give me the ability to understand a clean joke,
To get some humor out of life,
And to pass it on to other folks !
May your life continue to be filled with joy and laughter !!!
:>)
🙂
🙂
Ha.
thanks for your fun fwd. It was very amusing! Great to have good clean fun loving jokes!
my husband Bill and I enjoyed it very much! Thanks again for sharing.
Excellent, such an uplifting message. Thank you!
thankful for this blog. keeps me disciplined. amazing how God is leading the people then as He is now. I have no choice but to believe in God and pray that he hears my prayer. VBS is starting at church July 7th, brings back good memories for me. Pray for all the people who love the Lord and are involved and wish to share the love of Jesus Christ with children. Pray for laughter, patience, good snacks, lots of energy and true love for each person. Pray that everyone will have a great time, that the Love of Jesus Christ will Shine throughout the community! Thank you in Jesus Name I pray! AMEN
Oh yes. I am in agreement with you sah. Such an important time (reaching children). Most will not hear gospel stories at school and many not even at home. “Suffer the little children to come to me and forbig them not, for of such, is the Kingdom of Heaven”.
Dear Rev David M,
As I send this message, I turn my eyes to God to fill your church with the Holy Spirit as you proceed to bring healing to all those who are in need for it. All in the name of Our Healer, Saviour, our King of Kings, Jesus Christ. All for His Glory. We may be apart from you physically but we are right beside you in spirit.
Blessings to all my sisters and brothers in Christ in this blog.
xxxCarole
p.s: Beverlee K, Thank you for another fabulous poem!
The anointing of the Lord be upon you David as you pray for all who need a touch from the Lord.
After church this morning, I was at a garden party with members of our Senior choir…there was much laughter, mostly because we did not hear each other…and the melodies were not too sweet most of the time…not the best place to try to sing in harmony:)
what a great photo Reynold, thank you!!!
Blessed tonight! I thank God for your ministry, your health!
I love the way your life and Norma Jean’s as well as the legacy in your family speaks of what happens when we allow Holy Spirit to help us live life to the fullest. I thank God for all of your lives and pray the legacy lives on through the generations and the powerful impact it has for the Kingdom. May God abundantly bless you and Norma Jean today.