God's purpose for us

Do you wonder about God's purpose for your life? I know that I'm curious about His purpose for my life, and I think that I'm getting closer to the answer: to counsel adult children of divorce. I am one myself, and that topic is as close as one can get to my heart wound.

Jim Graff, senior pastor of Faith Family Church in Victoria, Texas, recently wrote in the Victoria Advocate about how God showed him the appropriate pastoral job:

But then I began to think, 'You know, I really should pray about it before I just go and take a church.'

So I prayed, and as I did God spoke so clearly to me from Scripture in this verse: 'It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way' (Proverbs 19:2).

Long story short, we turned down the offer in Philadelphia. And the opportunity opened up to become pastor of a church of what was then 80 loving families in what I consider the greatest place, with the greatest people any pastor could ever serve: Victoria.

The challenge is following God's purpose for our life. When we look at what he calls us to do, it might not make sense. But he's omniscient and we're not, right?

God's blessing in a refinery disaster

On Feb. 18 there was an explosion at Alon Refinery in Texas. Thanks to God, that disaster turned into a miracle -- no one was killed and only five people were injured. Bill Burchett, who was working at the refinery the morning of the explosion, recalled his experience for the Big Spring Herald:

'I heard someone on the radio tell us there was a propylene leak ... and I looked out the back door of the lab and saw what looked like steam or a cloud,' Burchett said. 'I ran back inside the lab and told everyone we needed to evacuate.

'As I stepped out the door, the explosion occurred, knocking me and everyone else to the ground,' Burchett added. 'At first, I was fearful ... but God spoke to me and told me he loved me ... and we made our way out of there.'

To give thanks, hundreds of residents recently attended the "Refinery Miracle Thanksgiving Service" at First Baptist Church in Big Spring.

God's role in a college choice

Many factors go into choosing which college to attend. . .location, distance from home, excellence in one's area of study, opportunities for fun. . . For Lamarr Houston, his decision about going to Texas for college was heavily based on God:

'I talked and prayed with my family,' said Houston, 'and God spoke to me and told me that I should go there.'

Houston has been very successful at Texas. He plays on the football team, and has started every game at defensive end. (Colorado Springs Gazette)

God saves a woman by speaking to her husband

Donald and Priscilla Bennett have known each other most of their lives, having dated since high school and married since 1959. They recently had a scare when Priscilla almost lost her life due to massive blood clots in her legs and lungs. The Cleburne (Texas) Times-Review has a story about how God saved Priscilla's life by talking to Donald:

'The doctor said that in his 20 years of medical practice that he had never seen blood clots that severe,' he said emotionally. 'He said that most patients didn’t make it to that point.

'God spoke to me while I was making a decision regarding surgery to place metal screens in veins to keep the clots from moving up. Some doctors told us they gave her a 50-50 chance; one physician considered those odds too optimistic.

'But I told them, ‘She is going to make it. God told me.’

Thanks to Donald listening to God, Priscilla is alive today.

Could I-35 be the "Highway of Holiness"?

Interstate 35 is a highway that I travel every day. It never really seemed that special to me, other than the fact that it goes all the way from Minnesota to Texas. Well, WorldNetDaily recently ran a column by Joseph Farah on a group called Light the Highway that has decided Interstate 35 is the "Highway of Holiness" proclaimed in Isaiah 35:8:

'God has given this scripture to us, not as a word of encouragement, but as a commission,' explains Cindy Jacobs, the founder of Light the Highway. 'God spoke to us about a highway we have that goes all the way from the bottom of America in Texas, to the top of America, in Minnesota.'

Starting Oct. 28 and ending Dec. 1, Light the Highway will hold its "35 days of I-35", culminating with "5 Nights of Miracles" in the Dallas area.