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Time Out for God Devotional Ministry By Danna Appleby Let God Be Praised! Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! (Psalm 107:8) Old fashioned testimony services have always been some of my favorites because I love hearing what God had been doing in the lives of people. As each person stands to give an account of God’s goodness, it encourages me to keep holding onto the unchanging hand of the Master. As a teenager, I remember hearing some great words of inspiration from church parishioners as my father led testimony services. The testimony service took on a whole new meaning when James Sadler stood to give his. Everyone must have wondered if he had missed his calling because what he said was power packed and his testimony turned into a sermon! Of course, I can’t miss an opportunity to tell about the words he used many times saying, “I pray that the Lord will come down around about us in a great way!” One memory of a precious saint brings a smile to my lips. When this sister was about to be seated she’d say, “Pray that I’ll stay little and humble.” The comical thing about it was that she was about as broad as she was long! ☺ But as I reflect on her words, I see how true they were because pride goes before a fall and she knew she needed help not to go down that road. Even though we’re not in a church setting, I wanted to share some testimonials with you. Over the past several weeks, I’ve been thinking about how the Lord protected, healed and delivered my family and friends from some very difficult situations. Old hymns and other songs of praise have been coming to mind such as: “Count Your Blessings,” “Showers of Blessings,” “Look What the Lord Has Done” and “When I Think About the Lord.” My heart rejoices because God has indeed been faithful to help in time of need. As I reflect back over my life and see what God has done, I can’t help but be thankful for His goodness and mercy. When I think of the changes He’s made in me, I’m totally dumbfounded. The defiant, stubborn one I once was, has done an about face. I love having the Holy Spirit living inside me, wooing and directing my steps. A song by the Talley family says, “God’s been so good to me I cannot tell it all.” I can’t help but agree! Many of you know about my sister-in-law, Penny Mauldin, and her battle with pancreatic cancer. In February, Penny went through a very serious surgery. The next day, infection set in and Penny’s liver started shutting down, emergency surgery was necessary and a portion of her liver removed. A few days later Penny developed an infection in her abdominal area and once again surgery was performed. Other procedures were done as well before Penny was able to leave the hospital, but finally after over thirty days, she went home, relieved and thrilled to be going home. The healing process is still going on and Penny’s digestive tract has been severely affected, but our family gives God praise for what He’s already done for Penny. We’re continuing to believe that God will continue to heal Penny. We know that had it not been for Him, Penny would not be here today. I also give God praise for my brother, Walt, who has stood by his wife lovingly and without wavering. He is a true example of a godly husband. Another testimony comes from a dear friend of mine, Kathy Duncan. Kathy has given me permission to tell of the healing power of God upon her. A malignant tumor came up on the side of Kathy’s nose and when she went to see a doctor he told her it was the worst case of skin cancer he had ever seen. The doctor explained that he would section her nose, reconstruct it and make a bridge that would attach her nose to her cheek to hold it in place. Many desperate prayers went up among friends, relatives, and the prayer warriors in Kathy’s Sunday School class. When she went in for surgery, her doctor removed the top layer, tested it and came back in and told Kathy what he removed was all he needed to do. The doctor and his nurse were amazed that the cancer seemed to only be on the surface when he knew it had been much deeper and much worse when he examined her before. Skin was grafted from the inside of Kathy ear and placed on her nose and the doctor was once again astonished because he said it was an absolutely perfect match. He exclaimed that in all his years of practice he had never had a graft to match as well as hers. Kathy raised her hands and said, “Thank you Lord!” Eleven days later when Kathy went back to the doctor to have her stitches removed, the doctor commented how fast she had healed. Kathy told the doctor that she had a lot of people praying for her and she knew that was what had made the difference. Kathy told me that initially she felt downhearted because she wanted the Lord to heal her so she wouldn’t have to go through the pain of the procedure, but God had other plans. God knew what He was doing because Kathy became a living, breathing testimony to His healing power right there at the doctor’s office. Kathy knew she had to go through some pain, but it was worth it for God to get the glory and for the doctor and his staff to see the Lord as the Great Physician. Kathy knew that someone in that office needed to see the handiwork of God, and they surely did. Kathy was thankful that God had blessed her so wonderfully. Tanner is our 16 year old grandson and was involved in a serious automobile accident with four other teens several months ago. Since Tanner was sitting in the middle of the backseat with no seatbelt, when the car crashed into a tree, his head hit the back of the head of the passenger in the front seat. All but one of the teens went to the emergency room and were injured in some way, but Tanner sustained the worst injuries with a severely broken nose, concussion, and injuries to an arm and leg. A little over a week later, Tanner went through an extensive surgery to repair his nose and upper gums. Afterwards, it was difficult for the family to watch Tanner endure a painful recovery, but many good things came out of a bad situation. By that I mean that Tanner learned some valuable lessons that he can take with him throughout life. In fact, there were many days that went by before Tanner would allow anyone to remove the hospital bracelet because he wanted to be reminded of the lessons learned and realized that God had been with him. I can’t praise the Lord enough for saving the lives of these teens and what God did to heal Tanner. He looks wonderful and we give God all the praise. The enemy wanted to take our grandson’s life, but God no doubt sent angels to protect and guard him in all of his ways. Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples! (I Chronicles 16:8) Prayer: Father, how great you truly are! Thank you for these wonderful testimonies of your greatness. Nothing is impossible with you! I thank you for loving us and caring about what we go through. Many times we’ve had problems to come our way and we had no one to turn to, but you were there all the time, never leaving or forsaking us. We reached our hands to you and you came to our aid. You sent angels to lift up us so we wouldn’t strike our foot against a stone. You stopped the enemy from taking our lives and our minds. We can walk in health and fullness of life because you said, “You’re mine and I will send my Word to heal you.” You loved us with an everlasting love. You looked down upon us and smiled when the world around us did not. You delivered us from the enemy of our souls. You will cover us with your feathers and under your wings we shall trust. Your truth shall be our shield and buckler. All praise to you Lord God. We give you our hearts and our lives. Take them and use them this day to tell of the goodness of our God. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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