As believers in the Lord, it is not unusual for us to sometimes doubt our
faith and question if God is really there by our side. In these moments of
weakness, we must remember the Saints of old who came before us and left us
their testimonies of God's faithfulness, His love for mankind, and His 
promise that He would never leave us nor forsake us. The Lord is faithful
at all times and even when our faith is weak in Him, the Lord's faith is 
strong in us. If you sometimes question your faith, don't be too hard on
yourself because even the Apostle Thomas doubted that Jesus really rose 
from the dead, but was quickly shown the truth. (Hebrews 10:23) (John 20:19-31)

An excerpt of this story is found in John 20:26-29 “And after eight days 
again His disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the 
doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. 
Then saith He to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold My hands; and 
reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into My side: and be not faithless, 
but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto Him, My Lord and my God. 
Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen Me, thou hast 
believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”

I hope this message ministers to your heart to believe in the Lord Jesus 
Christ no matter how strong the temptation is to be led astray. He will 
give you peace that surpasses understanding and wisdom to know that He has 
never left your side.


THE ANGEL PENNY

A few years ago I was involved in a Religious Encounter Weekend. These 
weekends provide many things to many people. To some, it may be an 
affirmation of their faith, -- to others, it's just the beginning of their
journey in Faith. A chance to start over or find a way to forgive someone
or have their first true relationship with Christ.

At these events there are many people involved on different levels. I had
attended the previous year as a candidate. This year I had been asked to be
a table leader, which only meant that I would help guide conversation, and
keep everyone involved.

In the weeks prior to the event we attended Sunday night meetings where we
heard various talks on different aspects of faith and how we can apply 
faith in our own lives.

At the close of the first meeting we gathered in a circle, held hands, 
bowed our heads and said, “The Lord's Prayer.” As we were praying I felt 
another hand over the top of ours with the woman to my right. It was 
gentle, but firm. I had my eyes shut and I wasn't about to open them. I 
felt the presence of the Holy Spirit. I didn't have to question WHAT it 
was, I KNEW.

After we finished our prayer I looked over to her and introduced myself as
she and I had never been formally introduced. Then I had to ask if she 
noticed anything while we were praying. Patti replied, “You mean our 
hands?” She felt it, too! We both had tears in our eyes. What an incredible
moment. But, it doesn't end here.

You see, prior to attending this function I had felt some distance within
my heart regarding my relationship to Christ. I've never doubted His 
existence, but I felt that I wasn't as close as I had longed to be. The day
I asked Jesus to come into my heart and be born again was a day and a 
memory I could not, nor would I ever choose to forget. That feeling just 
wasn't as strong within me. In a way, I felt lost and abandoned. I knew 
that wasn't God's choice, it was something within myself.

I had been praying fiercely for God to show me a sign. I know, many people
believe you shouldn't ask for signs but I've never had a problem asking and
I never will. God has shown me many things through this.

Moving on...the weekend of our event arrived. Over 60 candidates were 
scheduled to attend -- many of them for the first time. This begins on a 
Friday evening around 7 and closes late Sunday afternoon. We stayed in a 
former catholic church convent. The setting is perfect, and you can feel 
God's love all about.

On Saturday morning, Patti was giving a talk on Ideals. She correlated 
Ideals with reaching for goals. And with this she associated reaching for
goals like being able to reach toward the stars in heaven.

As she closed her speech she asked that someone from each group of round 
tables open a cloth bag in the center of each table. The gal to my right 
opened ours and passed it along to her right. There were 6-8 people sitting
at each table. As the bag came around to the woman on my left she pulled 
out the last two remaining pieces. Everyone at each table had receive a 
penny with a STAR shape punched out of it. However, when I was handed the
last penny from our bag I looked down and mine was not a STAR but an Angel.

Later on Patti approached me. She explained that when she received her 
order of pennies she had indeed received in error 3 pennies that had ANGELS
punched out, not STARS. She was hoping she would have enough STAR pennies
to go around. So, she went to look in a small box as she had brought along
the ANGEL pennies just in case she didn't have enough of the others. Guess
what -- lo and behold, she found she still had her 3 ANGEL coins. She had
searched through each coin one by one so as not to give an ANGEL in error.
This was my affirmation that indeed Patti and I had held hands directly 
with our Heavenly Father and it was incredible!

I'll cherish this special moment with Christ forever. My Angel penny is now
mounted in a coin pendant holder and I wear it often.

By Kathy Thielan


Read and meditate on these scriptures:

Psalm 61:1-4 “Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of
the earth will I cry unto Thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to 
the rock that is higher than I. For Thou hast been a shelter for me, and
a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in Thy tabernacle for ever: I
will trust in the covert of Thy wings. Selah.”

John 20:30-31 “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of His
disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that
ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that 
believing ye might have life through His name.”

Matthew 10:22 Jesus declares “And ye shall be hated of all men for my 
name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.”

Jeremiah 31:3 “The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have
loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I
drawn thee.”

All of these scriptures can be found in the King James Version Bible.


Today’s Selected Poem: YOU MUSTN'T QUIT
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/enpoem157.htm

Today’s Selected Testimony: THE WANDERER
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/testimony181.htm


In Christ’s Service,

Dwayne Savaya
God’s Work Ministry