Perfect Peace, Perfect Strength (by Randy Speck)

You’ve heard the saying, “Don’t worry, be happy.” Why should we worry when we can have peace, instead? Not just peace, but perfect peace.

“How much peace can we have if we doubt the only person who can help us through difficulties?” writes Ula Gillion, on her website, Jesus Carries Me.

Philippians 4:6-7 says 'Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.'

God's peace exceeds ANYTHING we can understand. Isn't that wonderful?

Not only is Jesus’ peace perfect, so is His strength.

One day, a few years ago, my niece, Cassie, came to my house with my mom. When she got out of the car, mom noticed my son, J.D.'s, ankle weights lying on the ground over by the basketball goal. That boy was always leaving something outside.

One day he was kicking a football out in the yard, when he managed to get not one, but TWO footballs stuck high in the tree out near the mailbox. Those were the only footballs he had, and he tried for several days to get them down by throwing rocks and other objects at them. His brother, Elijah, and I also joined in the rescue operation, but none of us had any success. We simply could not get those footballs out of that tree! It seemed as if they were destined to stay there forever.

And then one day, as J.D. would probably describe it, something miraculous happened — a power outage! Miraculous, because the power outage sent Richie Richardson of South Kentucky RECC to our home. J.D. looked out his bedroom window and saw Richie standing beside his ladder truck, which just happened to be parked next to the tree, that coincidentally held J.D.’s footballs. In a flash, J.D. was out the door. A minute later, I looked outside just in time to see Richie using this long-arm apparatus to remove the footballs from the tree. Then, I saw him turn toward J.D. and point up to the sky, in the opposite direction of the tree. I chuckled when I saw him do that. Then, Richie drove off down the road, smiling as he waved goodbye to a very happy J.D. Speck. Later, J.D. said Richie told him to kick the football ‘THAT WAY’ from now on!

Mom retrieved the ankle weights from the yard and carried them into the house, and Cassie went over to investigate. She wanted to know what they were. Mom explained to her how that J.D. used them to strengthen his leg muscles so that he will jump higher when he payed basketball. A puzzled Cassie replied, “Isn’t that illegal?”

Have you ever been at that spot in the road where you find yourself in a lull because of something that is weighing you down? And, no matter how hard you try, you’re just STUCK…like J.D.’s footballs? Even though it may be a hard battle, don’t give up. God loves you! Reach out to Him. He will be reaching back for you. J.D. could not get those footballs to move until he asked Richie to help him. And, you know, no matter how far out of reach a solution seems, no matter how difficult the situation is, no matter the size of the weight you are carrying around, just trust in the Lord. He WILL make a way for you.

Perfect peace, perfect strength!



Source: http://jesuscarriesme.com/2012/07/07/how-to-have-perfect-peace/

Blessed Assurance

When the British annexed Transvaal, a territory in South Africa in the late 1800's, it greatly annoyed the famers, also known as Boers (white settlers in Africa of Dutch origin). So, the farmers rebelled and war ensued.

At a 'Stop The War' conference, held in 1900 at Exeter Hall in London, a gentleman at the meeting said, "When the sol­diers go­ing to the front were pass­ing ano­ther bo­dy of sol­diers whom they re­cog­nized, their greet­ings used to be, Four-nine-four, boys; four-nine-four; and the sa­lute would in­var­i­ably be an­swered with Six furt­her on, boys; six fur­ther on. The sig­nif­i­cance of this was that, in ‘Sac­red Songs and So­los,’ a num­ber of co­pies of the small edi­tion of which had been sent to the front, num­ber 494 was, ‘God Be With You Till We Meet Again," and six fur­ther on than 494, or num­ber 500, was ‘Bless­ed As­sur­ance, Jesus is mine.’ - Ira D. Sankey, (author of one of the most popular hymn and time books in the English language, entitled “Sacred Songs and Solos“)

Blessèd assurance, Jesus is mine
O what a foretaste of glory divine
Heir of salvation, purchase of God
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood

This is my story, this is my song
Praising my Savior, all the day long
This is my story, this is my song
Praising my Savior, all the day long

Perfect submission, perfect delight
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight
Angels descending bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love

NEW VIDEO - The Potter

The Ugly Seed (by Randy Speck)

"If God can make - of an ugly seed with a bit of earth and air, and dew and rain, sunshine and shade - a flower so wondrous fair....I wonder what will He make of a soul like me."







I love those words from A.D. Burkett's poem entitled, "If You Will." They remind me of a day when I said to my son, Elijah, then a toddler...

"Why don't you just stay little like you are right now, and you can be my baby the rest of your life and mine?"

He replied, "I'm trying to dad, but God won't let me!"



His response really told the story of how God has it in His plan to make something of him, and I know that whatever He has in store for him will be nothing less than GREAT!

I sometimes wonder what God has in store for my children as they grow older, but most of the time I am too busy trying to figure out what He has in store for ME!

Growing up, I recall there were those who did their part to steer, or attempted to steer, me in the right direction. Remember the slogan, “Let God Be Your Co-Pilot?" I spent way too many years driving, when I should have pulled over and let God drive. I'm glad I finally did. He's a much better driver than I am.

Romans 5:12 says, "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world." The bible says that ALL have sinned. It's so easy to stray from the nourishment we need in order to become that beautiful flower God wants us to be. But, the good news is that it is God's intention to make each of us into beautiful flowers. Now, that makes me want to jump up and shout!

And, that takes me back to what Burkett wrote...

"If God can make - of an ugly seed with a bit of earth and air, and dew and rain, sunshine and shade - a flower so wondrous fair....I wonder what will He make of a soul like me."

The answer is simple, ‘something beautiful,’ if I just learn to let Him do the driving.

God wants to create something beautiful out of your life!  Listen to the words of our song, Creator.


Many BEAUTIFUL blessings to you!


Randy S.
Visit my blog, The Hour of Rescue

Truth (by Chuck Gibson)

I was in my 7TH grade science class listening to the teacher, a towering man who spoke with a voice of authority. He stood at the front of the class and held in his hand a small velvet bag with draw-strings pulled tight, keeping it closed. He opened the bag to reveal a small box, and as he opened the box he began to explain that it contained two items; a glove and a small weight. He explained that the weight was extremely precise and was used to calibrate scales.

The teacher then put the glove on, and with the gloved hand, he lifted the weight from its formed and molded indention inside the box. He told of how the weight could only be handled with the gloved hand, because the oils from your hand could attract dust, jeopardizing its precise and true measurement. My science teacher then spoke of how this is no ordinary weight. "This weight is the standard, in which other weights are measured up against. It's measurement is true."

Well, that was many years ago, and when I look back on this, what seemed like a small insignificant event in my life, I am reminded of Jesus the Christ. Jesus, like the weight, is certainly not ordinary. He is not just a good man. He is not even just a great prophet, as some would believe. Jesus was and is God in the form of man. He was and is the standard by which we should model our lives.

Recorded in the New Testament, in the book of John, chapter 18, verse 38, just before the crucifixion of Jesus,  Pilot asked Him, "What is truth?" The Bible doesn't say that Jesus gave a response, but one could imagine that when asked the question, "What is truth?" Jesus may have held his arms open as if to say, "Truth stands here before you."

Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the father, but by me. John 14:6




Here is the song, Truth, by Rising Son Ministries




Chuck

The Mini Bike and the Parade - by Chuck Gibson

When I was about 8 or 9 years old, my parents bought me a used mini bike from my cousin for $20. That summer, when it was time for the county fair, there was always a parade. My dad asked me if I wanted to ride my mini bike in the parade, and of course, I said yes.

So, the time came when we loaded the bike in the back of our truck and headed off toward town. When we arrived, there were people everywhere. We found a group of kids, all of them older than me, and all of them on motorcycles. They were revving their engines and spinning their wheels. To say the least, I was a little bit intimidated. My dad unloaded the mini bike, gave me instructions to stay with the group, and said he would meet me at the place where the parade would end. He then disappeared in the crowd.

When the parade began, we headed down the street. People were lined up on both sides, and there I was, parading through town with these cool older kids. All was well with the world, that is until my mini bike began to sputter and all of a sudden....the engine died. Distraught, I pushed it over to the curb, where I stood as the parade slowly began to pass me by. "What if I can't get it started, I thought?" And, it felt as if the whole world was pointing their finger at me and laughing. As sweat began to drop from my nose, I pulled the starter rope again and again and again. I was doing EVERYTHING my dad had taught me about starting the bike, with no success. Then it hit me. How was my dad going to find me? How was I going to get to the end of the parade, where he would be waiting for me? Fear began to take over. That nervous feeling you get in your stomach, when you want something so bad isn't going your way, slowly began to take over inside me. I was almost ready to panic when suddenly, with one more pull of the rope, the engine started! Without hesitation, I sped off down the street as fast as I could go to catch up with the cycling crew that had left me behind. With a big sigh of relief, I was once again back in the parade.

And then, as fate would have it, my rejuvenated spirit was short-lived, as a little farther along the parade route, my worst fear came true. It happened again. The engine died, once more. Once again, I pushed bike over to the side of the street as again, the parade proceeded without me. I was devastated, but I refused to give up as I frantically tried to get the bike started again. All the stress, fears and embarrassment I had  experienced earlier, had increased a thousand percent. I reached down to pull the starter rope and this time, thankfully, it started right away. I managed to catch up with the rest of the cycling crew and this time, I made it to the end of the parade. Looking around, my dad seemed to appear from nowhere. I told him all about the troubles I had along the route as we loaded the mini bike onto the truck and headed home.

The next day was Sunday. At Church, after the service had ended, a kind lady said, "Hey Chuck, I saw you in the parade yesterday." Her comment brought a big smile to my face until she added, "It looked like you were having trouble with your mini bike!" With my headed hung low, I said "Yes, ma'am!" Then she said, "It was so funny, because your dad was with my husband and I in our horse-drawn wagon just a short distance behind you, and every time your mini bike's engine would die, your dad would leap from the wagon and  take off running to help you, but each time, as he drew near, you managed to start the engine and take off, leaving him standing there watching carefully as you sped away."

I realized suddenly that all the stress and fear I had experienced the day before was for naught. My dad had been there with me the entire time, and I had no idea! It's the same way with my Heavenly Dad. When I am stressed, He is always there, waiting for me to call out to Him. Matthew 11:28 says, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I give you rest." 

God can and will do the same for you. I hope you will let Him.


Chuck

Chuck talks about his song, WOW!

Check out our WOW! Video

The Other Side...available at iTunes!

Rising Son Ministries' new Album, "The Other Side," is available on iTunes. For more information, visit iTunes. You may also send an e-mail to risingsonministries@hotmail.com, or visit our website at http://www.rising-son-music.com/

Majesty

This is the first video release from our new album, 'The Other Side.' For more information about Rising Son Ministries, send an email to risingsonministries@hotmail.com, or visit our website.

Creator

With the splender of the creation, let all the earth praise the Creator. The Song "Creator," is the title track of the debut album from Rising Son Ministries. The Purpose of Rising Son Ministries is to lead people in praise and worship of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to write and performv christian music that will be positive and uplifting in this world of trouble that we live in. For more information about Rising Son Ministries, send an e-mail to risingsonministries@hotmail.com, or visit our website.

Jesus, You're My Hero

"Jesus, You're My Hero," was written by Nat England of Rising Son Ministries as a reflection of the beautiful life of Gina Mathews, who left us way too early. This song reminds us that when we are weak, He, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, is strong. For more information on Rising Son Ministries, send an e-mail to risingsonministries@hotmail.com, or visit our website.

In Praise Of His Return

Bryson Cross sings, "In Praise Of His Return," as Rising Son Ministries leads praise and worship at The Learning Center in Albany, Kentucky. For more information about this and other songs by Rising Son Ministries, send an e-mail to risingsonministries@hotmail.com, or visit our website.

Truth

In this video, Rising Son Ministries is leading worship at Central Grove Baptist Church in Albany, Kentucky on January 18, 2009. Rising Son Ministries' goal is to lead in praise and worship of Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The son, Truth, is about the life and times of Jesus, and is featured on the album, Creator. For more information, send an e-mail to risingsonministries@hotmail.com

Jennifer's Song

Jennifer's Song was written by Bryson Cross, and Sarah and Mark Neal after witnessing the courage and strength of Sarah's sister, Jennifer, during her battle with breast cancer. Jennifer is a survivor and we hope that this song will give others hope and courage. "Scattering Hope" CD was created to raise awareness for breast cancer. Featuring songs from Rising Son Ministries, Chloe Craft and, profits from this CD go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for Breast Cancer Research and Awareness. For more information, send an e-mail to risingsonministries@hotmail.com.